Back in March, former Pro Bowl defensive end DeMarcus Ware announced his retirement from the NFL after 12 seasons.

Following his decision, Ware revealed that he was close to signing with the Dallas Cowboys prior to moving on from his playing days. According to Todd Archer of ESPN.com, the 35-year-old was actually extremely close to rejoining the Cowboys.

“I was one day away from coming back and signing with the Dallas Cowboys,” Ware said. “But my body just told me it’s time. It’s time to stop playing. Still have the drive to get out there and the want to play, but you’ve got to think about family, think about what’s important and I just decided it’s time to hang up the cleats and put on a suit.”

The fact that Ware was near a deal should indicate how strong of a desire he still had for the game. At the same time, he had also considered the Los Angeles Rams given his connection to defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, who had held that position for the last two years while he was there.

However, it was just time for Ware to finally call it a career as his body was no longer responding the way it once had. He had put together a Hall of Famer worthy career that saw him finish with 138.5 career sacks, which included registering double-digit sack totals seven times topped by 20.0 in his fourth season in the league.

Ware also holds the Cowboys' franchise records with 117.0 sacks and 32 forced fumbles. He also earned nine Pro Bowl selections, four First-Team All-Pro nods, three Second-Team All-Pro selections, and the NFC Defensive Player of the Year award in 2011. Ultimately, it would have been quite interesting if he would have ended his career with Dallas.