The Arizona Cardinals are coming off of a rather disappointing 2016 season, and have a pair of aging stars in Larry Fitzgerald and Carson Palmer. Retirement rumors have surrounded both players, but nothing has been definitive.
Bruce Arians has his ‘fingers crossed’ that Larry Fitzgerald and Carson Palmer will return
The two are considering retirement, but Arians thinks there’s a chance he gets both back.
Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images
On Tuesday, Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians spoke at the Waste Management Open in Scottsdale and told reporters via AZ Central, “Like everybody else, got my fingers crossed. I think when the juices start flowing and the injuries go away, they’ll both be back. But there’s nothing to confirm yet.”
Fitzgerald was also at the golf course on Tuesday, but didn’t give too much information regarding his future, only saying that he would announce his decision in the coming days or weeks.
Fitzgerald is set to make $11 million in 2017. If he were to decide to retire, he would be ending his career at a pretty decent time. His last catch was a touchdown, and he’d be leaving behind a streak of 195 straight games with a reception. He also led the NFL in receptions in 2016 with 107.
Palmer’s decision will have a big influence on Fitzgerald’s. According to Revenge of the Birds, Fitzgerald said last season that “A lot of it’s tied to Carson.”
Palmer is now 37, and will face a different look regarding the Cardinals coaching staff next season. Their normal quarterbacks coach Freddie Kitchens is now the running backs coach, and the team hired Byron Leftwich to replace him.
It’s not the first time Palmer has considered retirement. When Palmer was with the Cincinnati Bengals, he requested a trade after a 4-12 2010 season. After team president Mike Brown rejected it, he was ready to retire.
In 2011, he told a friend via USA TODAY that he would “never set foot in Paul Brown Stadium again” and “I have $80 million in the bank. I don’t have to play football for money. I’ll play it for the love of the game but that would have to be elsewhere.”
After that, the Bengal was placed on the reserve/did not report list, before ultimately being traded to the Raiders in October of 2011.
The circumstances are obviously different now for Palmer than they were back then, but the chances of him retiring certainly seem greater now considering his age. If the Cardinals lose him, they’ll likely lose Fitzgerald, and it would be a much different Cardinals team in 2017.
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