Sorry, Father Time, but Larry Fitzgerald is a bit tied up at the moment. The future Hall of Fame wide receiver returned for a 16th season with the Arizona Cardinals in 2019, and while things didn't go as well as he and the organization had hoped, Fitzgerald was even more productive than the year prior. The hiring of Kliff Kingsbury as head coach and the upside on first-overall pick Kyler Murray make for a tantalizing reason for Fitzgerald to return in 2020, and so he shall.
The 36-year-old was set to hit unrestricted free agency this offseason but has officially decided to wave off retirement, signing a one-year deal with the Cardinals, the team announced. Having now seen the legend firsthand, Kingsbury had a very simple sales pitch to keep Fitzgerald onboard.
He begged.
"Please come back," Kingsbury told him.
Wish granted.
"I think he's playing as good as anybody, honestly," he said of the 11-time Pro Bowl wideout. "You watch what he does week-in and week-out, the little things, the blocking and the toughness that he brings to the offensive side of the football. ... He's just still creating separation. He does it all."
Fitzgerald finished the 2019 season with 804 receiving yards and four touchdowns, and the fact he wasn't far from landing his 10th 1,000-yard season is evidence there's still plenty of fuel left in his tank. For his career, he's reeled in 17,083 yards and 20 touchdowns, making him the all-time franchise leader in both categories to an insane degree, lapping second-place Roy Green -- a Ring of Honor inductee -- by 8,118 yards and 54 touchdowns. Even extrapolating for the two extra seasons Fitzgerald has on his resume, the numbers and separation from the rest of the all-time pack are of another stratosphere.
And with him now locked in for a 17th season, they'll only climb higher.
