Cardinals news: Larry Fitzgerald 'focused on' football, not retirement

Superstar wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals is totally focused on football moving forward after flirting with retirement this NFL offseason.

The Arizona Cardinals franchise went through some drastic changes during this NFL offseason. Following the 2017 campaign, the team lost quarterback Carson Palmer and head coach Bruce Arians to retirement. Future Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald was thought to follow those two by also calling it a career.

However, after taking some time to make his decision whether to return, Fitzgerald chose to come back for at least one more season in Arizona. Now the 34-year-old superstar wideout is completely focused on football, via Darren Urban of the team's website.

“It’s professional sports, and you think you have an idea but you really have no idea,” Fitzgerald said Sunday morning. “There’s retirement and then there’s being retired. Most guys get retired. (The teams) tell you it’s time to go to pasture. You have to figure it out and they give you your apple and a road map.

“For the last 10 years I’ve been doing internships and those types of things to prepare myself and figure out what I am interested in and what I want to do when I transition out. (But) this is my focus right now. End of July to the beginning of February, the only thing I’m really focused on is ball.”

Fitzgerald's decision to stay for another season with the Cardinals had a lot to do with what choices the team made during the offseason. His concern, understandably so, was who they'd bring in to replace Arians and Palmer. The team promptly hired Steve Wilks and brought in three quarterbacks in Sam Bradford, Mike Glennon, and rookie Josh Rosen.

Although the Cardinals aren't considered a Super Bowl title contender nor a real force to be reckoned with in the NFC in 2018, Arizona could make some noise if it all comes together. Fitzgerald and company will have their work cut out for them in the NFC West let alone the conference with the Los Angeles Rams drastically improving their roster and the San Francisco 49ers becoming a threat with Jimmy Garoppolo under center.

Last season, Fitzgerald had another stellar performance tying a career-high with 109 receptions to go along with 1,156 yards and six touchdowns. The Pittsburgh product has shown no signs of slowing down as he continues to pad his legacy as one of the greatest wideouts in NFL history.