If Larry Fitzgerald was anybody besides Larry Fitzgerald, he might have retired by now. There aren’t a whole lot of accomplishments left for the 33-year-old to achieve. In his thirteen seasons in the NFL, the hall-of-fame bound wideout has recorded the third-most career receptions in NFL history, appeared in 10 pro bowls, and cracked the top 10 in all-time receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.
But Larry Fitzgerald is Larry Fitzgerald, and he wants to hoist a Lombardi Trophy.
“From a personal standpoint and the things I’ve accomplished, they’re fine,” Fitzgerald said, per Rob Goldberg of bleacherreport.com. “But the thing that you will say is out of your control because you’re in a team sport, is a championship.”
If a championship was entirely in Fitzgerald’s control, the Cardinals would have quite a few by now. Fitzgerald has led the team in receiving yards all but three of his thirteen seasons with them, according to pro-football-reference.com. Since Fitzgerald first donned a Cardinals uniform in 2004, the team, which had made just one playoff appearance and recorded just one winning record since moving to Arizona in 1988, has played in four postseasons, reaching one super bowl and two conference championship games.
The Cardinals have recorded ten or more wins in three of the last four seasons. Last year, though, the team went 7-8-1, though they outscored opponents by a combined 418 to 362, yielded the second fewest yards to their opponents, and ranked sixth in the league in points scored.
Fitzgerald did his part: he led the league in receptions for the second time in his career (2005, 103) with 107, and broke the 1,000 yard threshold for the eighth time.
Fitzgerald and the Cardinals have come within shouting distance of a Super bowl victory multiple times.
In 2015, Fitzgerald recorded 1215 yards on 109 receptions, leading the Cardinals to the NFC Championship Game, where they were routed by the then-undefeated Panthers. The veteran receiver was held to just 30 yards and 4 receptions on 7 targets in that game.
In 2009, with Kurt Warner under center, Fitzgerald led the league in touchdowns (13) and posted in excess of 1,000 yards. The Cardinals made their first ever Super Bowl appearance, matching up with the Steelers in Florida. Fitzgerald had 127 yards and 2 touchdowns on 7 receptions and 8 targets in that game.
64 of those yards came with just under three minutes to go in the game, when Fitzgerald caught a 10 yard pass at midfield on a crossing route and outran the Steelers’ defense to take it to the house and give the Cardinals a three-point lead with 2:37 to go.
He likely would have received a Super Bowl MVP award had that lead not been wiped out by a 76-yard, 2 minute and 2 second touchdown drive orchestrated by Steelers’ QB Ben Roethlisberger, who completed 7 out of 8 passes.
As it was, though, Fitzgerald’s MVP Trophy, along with his ring, went to Pittsburgh’s Santonio Holmes, who scored the winning touchdown on a 6-yard pass from Roethelisberger with 14 seconds remaining.
So, Fitzgerald’s fingers, which have taken the Cardinals to within inches of a Super Bowl championship, are devoid of jewelry.
Fitzgerald slowed down a little on the stat sheet from 2012-2014, failing to crack 1,000 yards and scoring an average of just over five touchdowns a year. He’s been in prime form over the past two years though, posting an average of 1119 receiving yards, 8 touchdowns and 108 receptions.
So, although he ranks among the NFL’s oldest active players, Fitzgerald sees no reason to call it quits any time soon. In fact, he’s not even thinking that far ahead.
“…we don’t have to think about what we’re doing after February 4,” he said, referencing Super Bowl LII, which will take place in Minneapolis on February 4.
When Fitzgerald does hang things up, he doesn’t see any reason to make a fuss about it.
“”That’s not how I am,” he said, per Bleacherreport’s Goldberg and Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com. “I’m just one player out of 1,600 in the National Football League and it’s a lot bigger than me. It’s never going to be like that.”
Featured image via Wikimedia Commons
