Larry Fitzgerald told new Cardinals coach Steve Wilks that he plans to play in the 2018 season, putting to rest speculation about the star wide receiver’s potential retirement.
Wilks relayed the news during an appearance Thursday on KMVP radio, via azcardinals.com.
Larry’s back.
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) February 15, 2018
Get it?
Bad joke. Good news: @LarryFitzgerald is returning for the 2018 season. pic.twitter.com/4baph2VgLz
Fitzgerald turns 35 on Aug. 31, and next season will mark his 15th in the NFL, all with the Cardinals. He’s an 11-time Pro Bowler, and he continues to put up big stats. This past season, for example, he tied his own franchise record with 109 catches, and tallied 1,156 yards and six touchdowns.
Fitzgerald signed a one-year contract extension in November worth $11 million guaranteed, but when Bruce Arians stepped down at season’s end, some wondered whether the wideout would follow his coach into retirement.
But Wilks and Arizona’s new offensive coordinator Mike McCoy both said the receiver was “excited” about the fresh coaching regime, and at this year’s Super Bowl in Minneapolis, Fitzgerald sounded positive about the new staff, according to the team’s website.
We’ll be on milestone watch during Fitzgerald’s 2018 season. He won’t catch Jerry Rice for most career receptions (1,549) and receiving yards (22,895), but with 92 catches, he’ll surpass Tony Gonzalez (1,325) for No. 2 in that category, and he needs just 390 more yards to pass Terrell Owens’ 15,934 for second all-time in yardage.
