Google has long had a strained relationship with the United States' largest carrier, from having to make compromises in order to get a Nexus device on Verizon to Big Red's recent refusal to activate a 2013 Nexus 7 to run on its LTE network. Also, Verizon's anemic pace of releasing firmware updates for the Galaxy Nexus and issues with Verizon's proprietary blobs in AOSP might have played a role in Verizon sitting out the last two generations of the Nexus phone.

Although there will be no Verizon Nexus 5, there are signs of a thaw in relations between the two companies. Google's top Android executive Sundar Pichai told The Verge that "a set of projects for 2014" will result from collaboration between Google and Big Red. Pichai did not disclose any details, so it could be anything - perhaps even a 2014 Nexus phone, though there's no indication that this will be the case. Buzzkill alert: I suspect nothing more than perhaps a Google Play Edition of a couple of 2014 flagship phones with Verizon's CDMA bands included or perhaps a Motorola Droid handset with completely stock Android. I doubt that we'll ever see a true Nexus phone on Big Red's network after the fiasco that was the Galaxy Nexus.

Source: The Verge