Report: Larry Fitzgerald Does Not Expect To Play For Cardinals In 2015
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Arizona Cardinals are busy this week preparing for their first playoff game since 2009, but now they may have a rather large distraction to deal with.
More accurately, it's about a 6-foot-3, 218-pound distraction.
A New Year's Eve report from Fox Sports Arizona's Craig Morgan said that Larry Fitzgerald, the team's most-targeted receiver, does not plan on being a Cardinal next season.
Fitzgerald, 31, is due to count for nearly $24 million against the cap next season, and though he told Morgan that a future on another team has "not crossed my mind," a source told Morgan that the wideout is preparing to take his football life elsewhere.
"Beyond [contract issues], Fitzgerald, 31, is not happy with his role on the team, the source said. He doesn't like playing in the slot and he's become far less of a focal point of the offense," Morgan reported. "While Fitzgerald led the team this season with 63 receptions and was second to Michael Floyd in yardage at 784, those numbers are the lowest since his rookie year, and his two touchdowns are a career low.
"By refusing a big pay cut, he could force the Cardinals to trade him to a team where he'd have the opportunity to be the top receiving option again."
Now, because this is New England, it's safe to assume that the months of February through August will be spent arguing why the Patriots should do whatever it takes to find a way to acquire Fitzgerald. After all, the man has caught more than 900 passes for 89 touchdowns and more than 12,000 yards. His postseason stats are also eye-popping: In six games, he has 42 receptions for 705 yards and 9 TDs. Granted, those came way back in 2008 and '09, but they still stand out.
Last offseason, many bozos made the case that the Patriots needed to find a way to acquire disgruntled Houston wideout Andre Johnson. They did not, and their 12-4 record, fourth-ranked scoring offense and first-round bye suggest that they didn't actually need Johnson, who finished with fewer receptions, yards and touchdowns than Julian Edelman.
And long before Andre Johnson, there was Emmanuel Sanders, DeSean Jackson, Steve Smith and even Terrell Owens. Really, Terrell Owens. That's how far out of control the thirst for wide receivers can get.
So as a matter of mental preparation, prepare to hear the name Larry Fitzgerald -- and that goes with it, like "Larry Fitz," "Fitzy," and so on -- bandied about incessantly from the very second this season ends for the Patriots until it's time to kick off for Week 1.
With a potential journey to the Super Bowl on tap for the Patriots this month, and with many chapters of Fitzgerald's saga in Arizona still to be written, it's much too early to break down the pros and cons that pursuing a receiver of Fitzgerald's caliber would bring. But given the way that offseasons have worked in recent years, you just know that whether the Patriots' season ends in glory in (how fitting) Glendale or whether it ends with a disappointing flop in Foxboro, the Larry Fitzgerald debate is coming.
Be prepared.
Read more from Michael Hurley by clicking here, or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.
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