Dancing With the Stars has already seen Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin in full quickstep mode — could a third 1990s-era Dallas Cowboy be far behind?

A TMZ story on Thursday offered footage of former Cowboys quarterback and current Fox NFL analyst Troy Aikman responding to a question about the show by saying that yes, he would be appearing on DWtS “next year.” It’s unclear whether by “next year” Aikman meant the next season of DWtS (which begins in September) or the spring 2011 season, though the latter would offer no conflicts with his workload for Fox. Aikman’s current Fox colleague and former head coach Jimmy Johnson is appearing on the upcoming season of Survivor, but filming for that has already ended.

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Aikman would certainly be a major get for the series, where even marginally talented dancing ex-footballers like Irvin invariably overstay their welcome. But it’s not like DWtS to commit to a contestant months ahead of time. And since ABC prefers to make casting announcements itself on its own time frame, it’s hard to believe someone who has been a public figure for 25 years would be so undisciplined as to spill the beans to a paparazzo. For the time being, we’re going to assume this is a deadpan joke from the ex-Cowboy.

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