Larry Fitzgerald: No Urge to Play Football
Larry Fitzgerald has broken his silence in regards to playing an 18th season with the Arizona Cardinals.
On Friday, just hours before Arizona takes on the Kansas City Chiefs in a preseason matchup, Fitzgerald went on "Let's Go," his radio show with Jim Gray on SiriusXM.
Fitzgerald announced that he will be a radio broadcaster "for now," and does not know if he will elect to return to football this season.
"Jim, to be honest with you I just don't have the urge to play right now," Fitzgerald said on the show. "I don't know how I'll feel in September, October, November moving forward but I just, today, I just don't have the urge."
Fitzgerald said that football is not a sport where he could walk out without being fully engaged and play.
An offseason-long question has been answered, in a way. The Cardinals will have to move on, albeit with the door cracked open if Fitzgerald gets the itch to return. Perhaps a strong start from the Cardinals could convince him.
Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury has mentioned how much he would love to have Fitzgerald back, even saying at times that he wishes the future Hall of Famer could play five more years.
Fitzgerald is the second-leading receiver in NFL history in catches and yards behind Jerry Rice. He made 11 Pro Bowls and won the 2016 Walter Payton Man of the Year award.
Last year, at age 37, he played 13 games and caught 54 passes. His last outing was in Week 16 at home against the San Francisco 49ers. He caught six passes that day.
Throughout the offseason, Fitzgerald would not give an answer regarding his plans. He continually said that he was still deciding. While he did not shut down the potential of putting the helmet back on, Fitzgerald made his current mindset clear, and the Cardinals will likely enter the season without him for the first time since 2003.
