Larry Fitzgerald has pieced together an illustrious, Hall of Fame-caliber career with the Arizona Cardinals. But now six years removed from Kurt Warner at quarterback, the squeaky clean receiver’s production has fallen victim to perennially poor signal-caller play in the desert.
Despite a somewhat quiet demeanor in an era when “diva” receivers have become the focal point of many offenses and headlines, Fitzgerald’s on-field dominance has said it all.
But will Fitzgerald finish out his career in Arizona?
Now at a career crossroads, a career retrospective is in order for arguably the finest wideout of the 2000s.
Physical prowess, incredibly sound fundamentals
After a dazzling, circus-catch highlight reel of a career at the University of Pittsburgh (easily the most underrated college program for providing the NFL with star players), Fitzgerald was the hottest wide-receiver commodity in the 2004 NFL Draft class.
At the combine he measured in at a chiseled 6-feet-2 7/8 inches and 225 pounds with a 38-inch vertical, sub 4.5 speed and, most importantly, 10.5-inch hands. How big are 10.5-inch mitts? Enormous. Odell Beckham Jr.’s hands are only 10 inches.
Fitzgerald was selected No. 3 overall by the Cardinals, and he instantly exploded in the NFL, catching 58 passes for 780 yards with eight touchdowns as a rookie.
From 2005 until 2011, despite a carousel of mediocre-to-average quarterbacks throwing him the football, he caught at least 100 passes or had more than 1,000 yards in all but one season. The only season he didn’t surpass either mark was 2006 when he missed three games due to a hamstring injury.
Back to Odell Beckham Jr. for a second.
Fitzgerald was the “one-handed catch master” when Beckham Jr. wasn’t even at LSU yet. Check this Sports Science video from 2009.
It’s almost as if — because of the immense talent he was given in the perfect No. 1 wideout body — Fitzgerald promised the Football Gods he’d never even attempt a body catch.
Sure hands stats
Pro Football Focus’ database begins in 2007. By the start of that season, Fitzgerald already had more than 200 career NFL receptions from his rookie year in 2004 through 2006. Starting in Week 1 of the 2007 campaign, Fitzgerald has been amazingly, almost unbelievably sure-handed.
| Larry Fitzgerald by the numbers | |||||
| Year | Targets | Receptions | Catchable Targets | Drops | Drop Rate (Drops / Catchable Targets) |
| 2014 | 100 | 63 | 64 | 1 | 1.5625 |
| 2013 | 129 | 82 | 83 | 1 | 1.204819277 |
| 2012 | 148 | 71 | 76 | 5 | 6.578947368 |
| 2011 | 151 | 80 | 83 | 3 | 3.614457831 |
| 2010 | 168 | 90 | 93 | 3 | 3.225806452 |
| 2009 | 143 | 96 | 99 | 3 | 3.03030303 |
| 2008 | 145 | 96 | 99 | 3 | 3.03030303 |
| 2007 | 153 | 100 | 103 | 3 | 2.912621359 |
| Avg: 3.14 | |||||
He’s never finished lower than sixth in drop rate during the eight-year period tracked by PFF.
While his remarkable grabs are what most will remember about Fitzgerald, his stunningly low drop rates are a testament to truly how reliable he has been each and every season he’s played in the NFL.
For perspective on Fitzgerald’s most disappointing drop rate of 6.57 percent in 2012, Falcons stud Julio Jones had a drop rate of 7.14 percent this past year, which is the best drop rate he’s ever managed as a professional. Calvin Johnson‘s best drop rate was 6.80 percent in 2011.
The magical playoff run
In 2008, the Cardinals weren’t expected to be a dangerous playoff contender. But in the second year with the stable Kurt Warner under center, Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Co. finally were able to put their talent to good use.
After jumping out to a 7-3 record, Arizona lost four of its next five.
However, a win in the season finale over the Seattle Seahawks gave Ken Whisenhunt’s team the NFC West title.
It began arguably the most magical postseason run we’ve seen in quite some time, and it was one for the record books for Fitzgerald.
At home against rookie Matt Ryan and the upstart Atlanta Falcons, the Cardinals top receiving target caught six passes for 101 yards with a touchdown. Arizona won 30-24.
The following week on the road against the heavily-favored Carolina Panthers, Fitzgerald turned 13 targets into eight receptions for 166 yards and a score. The Cardinals stunned the 12-4 NFC South champs 33-13.
In the NFC title game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Warner threw the football to Fitzgerald 10 times, and the 25-year-old receiver made nine grabs for 152 yards with three first-half touchdowns. In a wildly entertaining affair, the Cardinals prevailed 32-25.
Fitzgerald wasn’t done.
Facing the stingy Pittsburgh Steelers defense in the Super Bowl, he caught seven passes for 127 yards with two more touchdowns, none bigger than the slant he took 64-yards to the house with 2:37 remaining to give the Cardinals the lead.
If it weren’t for a tremendous, Ben Roethlisberger-led game-winning drive, Fitzgerald would have almost single-handedly brought the Vince Lombardi Trophy to Phoenix for the first time in Cardinals franchise history.
His 30 catches, 546 yards and seven touchdowns in that postseason run are all (post-1960) NFL playoff records to this day.
Recent production
After Warner retired in January of 2010, here’s a list of the quarterbacks who’ve started a game for the Cardinals: Derek Anderson, John Skelton, Max Hall, Kelvin Kolb, Ryan Lindley, Brian Hoyer, Drew Stanton and Carson Palmer.
In the first season without Warner, Fitzgerald caught 90 passes for 1,137 yards with six touchdowns with a frightening quarterback trio of Anderson, Skelton and Hall.
Just before the 2011 campaign, the Cardinals rewarded their franchise foundation with a record-breaking eight-year, $128.5 million contract with $50 million guaranteed.
After a 10-touchdown 2013, Fitzgerald had his worst season in a decade last season. Yet he still managed 63 receptions for 784 yards with two scores while playing 14 games in a season when Arizona started four different signal-callers.
What’s next?
Representing a massive cap hit of $23.6 million in 2015, the Cardinals and Fitzgerald have huge decisions to make. According to AZCardinals.com, head coach Bruce Arians “definitely, desperately wants him to stay.”
Will Fitzgerald, who’s now 31, agree to a contract restructure, or will he opt to hit the free-agent market?
He’s still in fantastic shape, and although he may not be as laterally quick or fast down the field as he was in the mid-2000s, his ball skills haven’t diminished, as evidenced by his single drop in each of the last two seasons.
Both sides will likely have to decide before March, when Fitzgerald’s $8 million roster bonus kicks in.
With another 1,000 yards, he’ll become one of 17 wideouts in league history to reach the 13,000-yard mark, and he’s 91 grabs away from 1,000 in his career.
He was the youngest player to — deep inhale — 700, 800 and 900 catches and the youngest player ever to 7,000 receiving yards.
Fitzgerald isn’t necessarily finished. Or even close to being finished.
He’s still only 31, and won’t turn 32 until Aug. 31. Steve Smith has managed 295 catches, 4,378 yards and 21 TDs after his 32nd birthday.
Regardless of what happens, Fitzgerald has already cemented himself as one of the NFL’s most excellent receivers.
Also, he has never had an off-field or locker-room issue, and has his hands in a variety of community service and charitable efforts.
We’ve been lucky to witness his consistent receiving career as one of the NFL’s good guys.
