Fitzgerald stays steady as Cardinals flounder
TEMPE, Ariz. — Arizona wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald is just 14 yards shy of his fifth career 1,000-yard receiving season, quite an accomplishment considering the Cardinals are next to last in the NFL in passing offense.
It’s little solace for a player with one more year on his contract, the face of a franchise that the Cardinals dearly want to keep.
“I want to stay here. I enjoy playing for coach (Ken) Whisenhunt. I enjoy working for the Bidwills,” Fitzgerald said in an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday. “They’ve always treated me good since I first got here. This is all I know. I can’t ever say that I want to go anywhere else.”
Fitzgerald last week became — at 27 years, 110 days — the youngest player in NFL history to reach 600 career receptions and the second-youngest, behind Randy Moss, to reach 8,000 career yards receiving. A week earlier, he broke Anquan Boldin’s franchise record for receptions.
He won’t, however, endure repeated seasons like this one. The Cardinals (4-10) have lost eight of their last nine games going into their Christmas night matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.
“I’ve said it before that the most important thing for me in my career is to win,” Fitzgerald said. “I’ve been in the playoffs the last two seasons. Obviously we’re not going to make it this year, but I know what it feels like to play in the postseason and this feeling is not the one I want to have at the conclusion of my year. It’s just not a good feeling.”
He will leave the specifics of the job ahead to the Arizona front office.
“I’m not the guy that’s pulling the trigger and saying this needs to be done or this needs to be addressed. I’m not that kind of player,” Fitzgerald said. “I’m confident in (general manager) Rod Graves, I’m confident in coach Whisenhunt, I’m confident in (president) Michael Bidwill, (director of player personnel) Steve Keim and all those guys upstairs that do such a great job in our scouting department, that they’re going to get guys here and draft guys that are going to help us win ball games.”
He said he will not place a deadline for a contract extension.
