Larry Fitzgerald is coming back for the 2018 season — and that’s great for football fans everywhere.
Larry Fitzgerald coming back in 2018 makes us happy. But he’s deserved better
He’s coming back for another season, and we should all be glad about that. But we also need to appreciate what he’s done.
Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images
He’s has been one of the best wide receivers in the NFL since being drafted by the Cardinals in 2004. You know, after he got snubbed the 2003 Heisman Trophy and all.
In 14 NFL seasons, Fitzgerald has 1,234 receptions, 15,545 yards, and 110 touchdowns. If he gets 390 receiving yards next season, he’ll pass Terrell Owens for the second-most all-time receiving yards. With 93 catches, he’ll pass Tony Gonzalez for the second-most receptions ever.
The way in which he’s accomplished these numbers is mind-blowing. He’s always been a quiet player who went out on the field, did his job, and has never drawn attention to himself.
That doesn’t mean I’m giving him brownie points for not adding to the stereotypical diva wideout label that is always (unfairly) thrown around. But considering some of the quarterbacks he had to catch passes from, you might imagine he’d get annoyed a time or two. You could totally justify this guy being arrogant over how skilled he is. But he’s not.
Fitzgerald has had a Hall of Fame career with these QBs.
Josh McCown. To be fair, a McCown has played for every NFL team ever.
Shaun King. Fitzgerald didn’t even get King when King still had a chance at a career. He got Last Season of His Short Career Shaun King.
John Navarre. He will be remembered for being a Michigan quarterback instead of an NFL quarterback. One start for the Cardinals isn’t exactly memorable.
Kurt Warner. OK, this one’s good.
Matt Leinart. He was supposed to be the one who was going to be the fix upon being drafted in 2006. Oops! Thank goodness Fitzgerald got a few good years of good Warner.
Derek Anderson. Long career, not a lot to show for it (2-7 with the Cardinals). Unrelated but important: He won 10 games with the Browns in 2007. 10. The Browns.
John Skelton. Not sure if NFL quarterback or a Halloween movie character.
Max Hall. If I told you that I just made up this name and threw it in here, you’d probably believe me (and now you’re double-checking).
Kevin Kolb. The king of finesse!
Ryan Lindley. Started a playoff game for the Cardinals in 2014. A crime against football.
Brian Hoyer. Fitzgerald didn’t even get flash-in-the-pan Hoyer. Hoyer was still known as Tom Brady’s backup.
Carson Palmer. The second-best quarterback Fitzgerald played with, without question. They had their two best regular-season records (11-5 in 2014, 13-3 in 2015) with him under center.
Drew Stanton. The Cardinals are actually 4-1 in his five starts the past two seasons. But he’s also Drew Stanton!
Blaine Gabbert. Blaine Gabbert.
This is a pretty agonizing list to go through when you think about how much better Fitzgerald could have been over the course of his career with a good and steady quarterback. It’s not an eye-for-eye case by any means, but look at what having Tom Brady did for Randy Moss — it makes a difference.
Moss was already going to be a Hall of Famer with or without Brady. But in 2007, he had the best season of his career with 1,493 yards and an NFL single-season record 23 receiving touchdowns for the Patriots. That was one year removed from a 553-yard, three-touchdown season in Oakland under what we can call Fitzgerald-like circumstances.
In 2017 while catching passes from a 38-year-old Palmer, Gabbert, and Stanton, Fitzgerald still had 109 receptions 1,156 yards, and six touchdowns. Those numbers would fall on the better half of his career numbers.
Hopefully Arizona can find him a good quarterback in 2018.
The Cardinals probably aren’t going to get Fitzgerald a Super Bowl by the time his career comes to a conclusion. It’s unfortunate for such an immensely talented player as himself — and he almost had his signature Super Bowl moment in 2008:
But now, the Cardinals have one last chance to get him a legitimate quarterback in what could be his final season. Palmer retired after another injury-shortened season, and they have a new head coach in Steve Wilks after Bruce Arians retired.
Kirk Cousins is going to be the grand prize this offseason in free agency. The Cardinals could be in the mix, and it’s probably their best option. The Cardinals have the 15th overall pick in the draft and won’t be able to pick one of the quarterbacks who are considered to be the crown jewels of the draft.
That’s not to say that the team can’t find one in later rounds, but if Arizona wants to play the odds, signing Cousins or trading up to draft a quarterback is probably the move.
Fitzgerald has done a lot with a little for the Cardinals. Here’s to at least one more season of No. 11 and hoping he gets a quarterback.
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