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As the Eagles and Cardinals prepare to renew acquaintances in Arizona on Sunday, one of the best receivers in the NFL was destined to be there, playing for one team or the other.

Larry Fitzgerald tells Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com that the Eagles nearly traded for the wideout in 2008. According to Fitzgerald, the Eagles offered a first-round pick and a third-round pick for Fitzgerald in 2008, when the back end of Fitzgerald’s rookie deal had the team over a barrel with a gigantic cap number. Eventually, Fitzgerald signed a four-year, $40 million contract.

It’s no surprise that the Eagles made a run at Fitzgerald. That same offseason, they tried to sign receiver Randy Moss, reportedly offering him more than the three-year, $27 million package he signed to stay with the Patriots.

If Fitzgerald had gone to Philly, it would have reshaped the team, dramatically. Jeremy Maclin and/or DeSean Jackson likely wouldn’t have been drafted, and other players would have been not drafted or signed in free agency.

One similarity is that Fitzgerald would have been on the same team with quarterback Kevin Kolb, who was taken by the Eagles in the second round of the 2007 draft.