As Peyton Manning gets set to play in his third Super Bowl — and first as a member of the Denver Broncos — it got me thinking about that time not long ago when there was actually a chance the future Hall of Fame QB was going to be an Arizona Cardinal.

It was March 2012, and there were stories of billboards popping up in Arizona, the Cardinals being in the QB’s top four or or five. “Manning Watch” was in full force for a little while, with one columnist…cough…me…cough…even going so far as to write that simply being in the conversation showed how far the Cardinals had come as an organization.

Of course, the Cardinals bowed out of the sweepstakes with Kevin Kolb’s roster bonus looming, Manning ended up choosing the Broncos, and the Cardinals were left trying to sort through the mess that was their quarterback situation without the advantage of having one of the game’s all-time greats on the roster.

The disappointment along with what has happened since — for Manning, the Broncos and the Cardinals — got me to thinking: What are some of the other big “what ifs” in Cardinals history? In this edition of “The Five,” I break down some of the biggest.

1. What if…quarterbacks could have stayed healthy

Follow @theAdamGreen