Legendary Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald is in Canton, getting ready to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Just don’t say he’s retired from football just yet.
At his Hall of Fame press conference, Fitzgerald explained that he simply doesn’t believe in retirement. So, he’s not going to commit to it.
“I have not committed to retirement,” Fitzgerald said.
Of course, that doesn’t mean Fitzgerald is coming back to play alongside Michael Wilson and Marvin Harrison Jr. He hasn’t played since 2020 and doesn’t have any intention of changing things as he enters the Hall of Fame. Instead, he’s transitioning into the next phase of his life.
“They’d talk about retirement killing more people in our country than anything. It always stuck with me. I just don’t believe in retirement. I just think you transition into different phases, especially as an athlete. I was done at 38. Retire? There is no retirement in sight,” Fitzgerald said.
“I protest the word more than the actual thing. So I just won’t acknowledge that.”
Larry Fitzgerald is Arguably the Greatest Player in Arizona Cardinals History
GettyLarry Fitzgerald playing with the Cardinals
There are a handful of players who you could make an argument are the greatest player in Arizona Cardinals history. Aeneas Williams and Larry Wilson deserve their credit on the defensive side. Dan Dierdorf is a Hall of Fame lineman. Still, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better individual player than Larry Fitzgerald.
The No. 3 overall pick in 2004, Fitzgerald played 17 years in the NFL. All of them were with the Cardinals.
Fitzgerald finished that career with 1,432 receptions for 17,492 yards, and 121 touchdowns. He averaged 12.2 yards per reception. That’s the second most receiving yards for a career and the sixth most receiving touchdowns in NFL history.
During that time, he was the Walter Payton Man of the Year, an 11-time Pro Bowl selection, led the NFL in Receptions twice, led the NFL in receiving touchdowns twice, and is a member of the NFL 100th Anniversary Team.
Fitzgerald would also be the key piece of the offense that took the Cardinals to their only Super Bowl appearance as a franchise. That 2008 team ended up falling short in the Super Bowl, but Fitzgerald had a massive game, with 7 receptions for 127 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Later in his career, Fitzgerald had the chance to leave Arizona and chase a Super Bowl. He didn’t want to, though. Instead, he knew it wouldn’t be the same to do it with another team.
“I loved where I was at,” Fitzgerald said. “And, quite frankly, I don’t know if it would have meant the same for me if I went to somewhere who was already some super team and I was just a part of that super team that existed before I got there. There would be a cheapness that I would feel about it, personally.
The Cardinals Wore Shirts to Honor Fitzgerald
GettyLarry Fitzgerald at the Hall of Fame Game
With Larry Fitzgerald heading into Canton, the Arizona Cardinals were on hand to take on the Carolina Panthers in the Hall of Fame Game. While in warmups, the team made sure to honor the legend.
While warming up, Cardinals players wore No. 11 jerseys, a clear tip of the hat to Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald’s number isn’t officially retired with the Cardinals just yet. However, the Cardinals also haven’t been issuing it since his retirement. Now, with Fitzgerald in the Hall of Fame, it feels like it’s only a matter of time before that retirement becomes official.
Oddly enough, there was another connection at the Hall of Fame Game for the Cardinals. Referee Craig Wrolstad made a call back in 2003, in which he said a Josh McCown to Nate Poole touchdown was a force out. Ironically, that call also changed Arizona’s 2004 first-round pick from the No. 1 to the No. 3 pick.
That No. 3 pick would go on to become Larry Fitzgerald. That year, Eli Manning had been the No. 1 overall pick, and the Cardinals did have some long-term concerns to figure out at the quarterback position. So, it could have rewritten history in more than one way.
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