Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals is considered one of the best wide receivers of this generation. He’s caught over 1,000 receiving yards nine times over his career and has corralled in over 90 receptions over eight seasons. He’s an 11-time Pro-Bowler and has been an All-Pro once. He’s the definition of an all-time great.
It was over a decade ago in 2008 that he had a monster season. He had a total of a career-high 1,431 yards along with a league-leading 12 touchdowns and 96 receptions. Through four playoff games, Fitzgerald had 30 receptions with 546 reception yards and seven total touchdowns. However, the Cardinals did not win it all, falling to the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-23 in Super Bowl XLVIII.
This past year was probably Fitzgerald’s worst of his career. The Cardinals played awfully bad overall as a team. Their head coach Steve Wilks fired after only one season as their coach, after going 3-13 and finishing dead last in their division.
Fitzgerald only had 69 receptions for 734 yards with only six touchdowns last year. He’s clearly not the same player he once was, and likely will retire from the league in a few seasons.
The Cardinals surprised many people this offseason by bringing in Kliff Kingsbury as head coach. Kingsbury had been the head coach of Texas Tech for six seasons. He coached NFL phenom quarterback Patrick Mahomes and is now respected across the NFL for his offensive mind.
He was fired just this past year as the head coach of Texas Tech. He coached there for six years, finishing with a 35-40 total record. They reached three bowl games in his time in Texas and won only one. His lack of success got him the boot. USC had hired him on to be the quarterback’s coach in January. However, he left that job to coach the Cardinals.
If Fitzgerald wants to chase a championship one last time, he’d be more suited joining a team like the Chicago Bears or the Los Angeles Rams. A team that is one offensive weapon away from being a deep playoff team.
The Cardinals are likely going to rebuilding for multiple years. Josh Rosen is a bottom of the league talent. They aren’t going to be going on a playoff run anytime soon. If Fitzgerald wants to finish out his career on a good team, he should look elsewhere to provide his veteran leadership.
