Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald is returning to the team who drafted him for his 17th season, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Fitzgerald was scheduled to be a free agent in March but with the one year deal, he will be with the Cardinals for at least the next season.
During each of the last few years, there have been questions if Fitzgerald would retire, and each year he has come back. This is a big boost for the Cardinals because he quickly became Kyler Murray's favorite target. Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury said after the season he had one simple message to try and get him to return, “please come back.”
“I think he's playing as good as anybody, honestly,” Kingsbury said via the Cardinals team website. “You watch what he does week-in and week-out, the little things, the blocking and the toughness that he brings to the offensive side of the football. We missed him twice for huge plays yesterday. He's just still creating separation. He does it all.”
The Cardinals only won five games during the 2019 season, but Larry Fitzgerald said he had a lot of fun, and his comments made many believe he would be back for another year.
“The atmosphere, the positivity, I think it's a lot of different reasons, but it's been a great year,” Fitzgerald said after the last game in Los Angeles. “For a five-win season, I can't remember having as much joy in the process.”
Having a mentor like Larry Fitzgerald, who was recently named to the NFL 100 All-Time Team, in the locker room proved to be important for young players, especially a quarterback like Murray and wide receivers like Christian Kirk. Being able to have that presence for as long as possible
Expectations are going to be higher for the Cardinals next season, and eyes are going to be on their star receiver to make a strong impact once again.