Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald doesn’t know when he will retire, but he knows that it will be a low-key moment when he does.
Fitzgerald said Thursday that he won’t go on an extended retirement tour full of accolades, gifts and ceremonies like the ones we’ve seen from Kobe Bryant, Derek Jeter and David Ortiz in recent years. Fitzgerald said that he’s taking his cue from another recently retired star athlete who put out a simple press release announcing he was done with basketball.
“It’s not about me,” Fitzgerald said, via the team’s website. “This is a team game. I am one of 1,600 [NFL players]. I’ve had a great time doing it, but I will never say, ‘I’m about to do this’ and try and get some adulation. That’s not how I’m wired. Tim Duncan is more my speed.”
Should Sunday wind up being his last game, he could go out as the league’s leading pass-catcher this season. Fitzgerald shrugged off any extra congratulations for that achievement by noting that he would “put an asterisk” next to it because current leader Antonio Brown, who has 106 catches to 102 for Fitzgerald, is expected to sit out in Week 17.