It was reported yesterday that the Arizona Cardinals could be looking to move on from wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald after this season. The 31-year-old veteran will count an astronomical $23.6 million against the salary cap next year. That's an enormous amount of money to pay for anyone, let alone an aging receiver.
"I think it's 50-50 on Fitz returning," Kent Somers of AZCentral.com wrote. "It's not only will he take a pay cut, but will he be a bigger factor in the offense going forward?"
Even with all of the quarterback troubles the Cardinals have had this year, Fitzgerald has noticeably slowed recently. He's on pace for a career low in targets, yards and touchdowns this season. He currently has 61 receptions for 755 yards and two touchdowns.
"Fitzgerald signed a restructured contract in February to stay with Arizona through the 2014 season, but many believed he could be on his way out due to a massive cap hit the Cardinals would have to take to keep him," Darren Hartwell of NESN wrote. "Of course, Arizona still could opt to trade Fitzgerald or attempt to restructure his contract, but teams hoping to seal the veteran wideout in free agency apparently will have to look elsewhere."
Back in October, it was rumored that the Cardinals were debating a trade centered on Fitzgerald with the New England Patriots. While nothing ever came of it, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has been known to squeeze production out of talented players on the wrong side of 30. Should Fitzgerald become available, it's likely New England will emerge as a potential landing spot yet again. It wasn't so long ago that Belichick took a chance on Randy Moss and wound up having a front-row seat to one of the best receiving seasons of all time.
