Gibbs, 28, has two years to run on his contract with the Blues, and his strong performances this season highlighted how invested he was after his hopes of joining the Crows last year were scuttled.

He had wanted to return to South Australia for family reasons but the Crows were unable to meet the Blues' demands of draft picks and an established player. The Blues had sought the speedy Charlie Cameron as part of a trade.

Gibbs will finish high in the Blues best-and-fairest count this month. He averaged almost 27 disposals in 22 matches and it's understood he told the club at his exit meeting he was enjoying life in Melbourne.

He is keen to play finals before his career is over but the Blues remain on a major rebuild. Coach Brendon Bolton recently declared he hoped this project would be completed while skipper Marc Murphy and Gibbs were still at the club.

However, Fairfax Media understands if the right deal is put to all parties, then Gibbs is no certainty to be a Blue next season.

There is no indication Gibbs will push to leave. Rather, it would have to be up to the Crows, who could lose Cameron to Brisbane and seek to have Gibbs as the replacement midfielder, or Port Adelaide, to instigate a move. If that does happen, it's understood the 231-game veteran would at least consider, or even be open to, a move.

His outside run and slick ball use would continue to elevate the Crows, even if they were to win the premiership this year.

Murphy recently told Fairfax Media that Gibbs, his great mate, had shown no indication he was keen to leave.

Gibbs was the No.1 pick in the 2006 national draft, having been ruled ineligible to join the Crows at the time under the father-and-son rule. His father Ross played 253 games for Glenelg. Under the AFL rules at the time, Ross had needed to have played 200 games in the 20-year eligibility period for father-and-son selections, those being the years 1970-90 before the Crows were formed.

Steven Trigg, then the Crows chief executive and now in the same role with the Blues, had unsuccessfully sought a tinkering to the rules, a rejection he was "bitterly disappointed" with at the time.