Gresh & Zolak: Larry Fitzgerald Talk Is Over
BOSTON (CBS) - Jersey #11 for the Patriots next season will not be Larry Fitzgerald (and then again, it might not be Julian Edelman either).
The All Pro receiver announced yesterday on Twitter he signed a restructured contract to help the Arizona Cardinals get better in 2014, which all but eliminates the possibility of a trade bringing him to the New England Patriots.
It was fun dreaming while it lasted though, no?
"Yeah but with a restructured deal that means he's easier to move in a trade!"
Not quite.
Larry Fitzgerald does have a more manageable cap number now, but the Cardinals just gave him a signing bonus of nearly $12 million. So they're not going to trade him now after handing over that kind of cash.
"Let's make this clear: Larry Fitzgerald did not take a pay cut," Andy Gresh said on Wednesday. "Fitzgerald for my money is the best and most complete wide receiver in football. He can block, he can run every route, he goes over the middle, he can beat you long and he's a good character guy - the whole nine yards. He's worth a lot of money, but $18 million on the cap?"
"All you're doing is pushing it back another year or two. That's all you're doing," said Scott Zolak.
Gresh predicts disaster for Arizona, who in light of their division rival winning the Super Bowl are "loading up" to win now - a tactic that really never works.
"Next year the cap hit for Fitzgerald is $21.25 million, and let's remember he's not taking a pay cut. He's only doing cap maneuvering, which is basically taking your credit card out of your pocket, swiping it and paying later. This is the stuff that you get a year for it to work, you don't even get two. This is the type of move where Arizona looks at Seattle and says, 'We need to do whatever we can to win now and we'll figure out the rest later' - it's a recipe for disaster."
"There's a difference between a pay cut and a restructure," Gresh concluded.
Listen below:
Larry Fitzgerald Talk Over
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