His coach is retired, and his quarterback is gone, too. What will that mean for a 34-year-old, future-Hall-of-Fame receiver?
The status of Larry Fitzgerald is the next question for the Cardinals to resolve. He signed a one-year extension during the 2017 season, putting him under contract through 2018. But that move likely had plenty to do with avoid any talk regarding his playing destination for 2018 before that topic emerged.
As it stands, Fitzgerald is under contract withthe Cardinals for another year. What if he wants to keep playing, but no longer wants to play for the Cardinals?
In late 2016, Fitzgerald seemed to tie his interest in continuing his career to playing for a contender. “I’m uncertain what I’m going to do moving forward,” Fitzgerald said at the time. “But I still love the game, I love the competition. I love being around the guys and competing for a championship. That’s a lot of fun to me, and that’s kind of where I’m at right now.”
Few will believe that the Cardinals instantly will be competing for a championship in 2018. If Fitzgerald doesn’t see a path to the Super Bowl in Arizona for what would be his 15th NFL season, would he want to finish up with a team whose championship window is open?
And that’s where this could get very interesting. Fitzgerald, a Minnesota native, was a ball boy for the 1998 Vikings. Fitzgerald’s father said in 2011 that Larry “always wanted to be a Viking because he is a Viking.”
With a balanced offense and a potent defense, there may be no better time for Fitzgerald to become a Viking, where the combination of Fitzgerald, Stefon Diggs, and Adam Thielen could rival the “Three Deep” trio of Randy Moss, Cris Carter, and Jake Reed from Fitzgerald’s youth.