It takes special circumstances for a player to be a franchise's greatest player. Some franchises have a longstanding history, and just being mentioned with the greats can be gratifying. For others with moribund and decrepit backstories, their franchise's top players are few and far between.
The Arizona Cardinals are one of those teams with a history that I would call moribund and decrepit. Outside of players like Aeneas Williams, Dan Dierdorff and Vai Sikahema (TECMO BOWL), the Cardinals have hardly had players worth a damn. That is, until Larry Darnell Fitzgerald, Jr. put on the #11 in Phoenix.
For 11 seasons, Fitzgerald has been the face of the franchise and led Arizona to places they'd never seen before. Unfortunately, this same organization is making it known to Fitzgerald that he will likely not be back in 2015. Per Craig Morgan of FOX Sports Arizona:
Last week, general manager Steve Keim confirmed a Pro Football Talk report that the Cardinals had no plans to cut Fitzgerald despite an unworkable $23.6 million cap number next season, which would account for about 17 percent of the projected $141 million salary cap.
[...]A decision likely would have to be made by March, when Fitzgerald is due an $8 million roster bonus. But Keim's stance was clever in that it put the onus on Fitzgerald to take less money so that he doesn't hamstring the team this offseason in its efforts to acquire more free agents and improve the roster. But Fitzgerald is unlikely to restructure his deal again. He would have counted $18 million against the Cardinals 2014 salary cap, but he agreed to a deal that created about $10 million in cap space for the Cardinals this season by converting salary to bonus money.
To quote Rohan Nadkami over at Deadspin, "Fitzgerald should not give in to this bullshit trend of management making players look selfish if they don't take less money for 'the good of the team.'" Which is absolutely right, plus Fitzgerald shouldn't be having to sell his soul over the middle while quarterbacks like Drew Stanton, Ryan Lindley and Logan Thomas possibly put his life in danger for the umpteenth time. Maybe a change of scenery (and an upgrade at quarterback) would be awesome for Fitz, because if I were going to bet on player still having some juice in the tank, it's the former Pitt Panthers legend.
Here's 5 teams that should consider taking a flier on Fitzgerald in 2015.
Seattle Seahawks
Pete Carroll's boys have somehow regained the top spot in the NFC with no WR1 on the roster whatsoever. With draft picks at the bottom of the rounds, maybe acquiring someone like Fitzgerald could prove to be easier while helping Russell Wilson out in the process.
Kansas City Chiefs
FItzgerald has stated that he doesn't like playing in the slot all that much, and Kansas City will have to replace their current WR1 in Dwyane Bowe. Sure, Alex Smith doesn't throw to wide receivers all that much, but Fitzgerald is definitely a much more explosive downfield threat than Bowe's ever been.
Carolina Panthers
The Panthers have been short on wide receivers ever since Cam Newton landed in Charlotte. Sure, players like Steve Smith and Kelvin Benjamin have pulled off miracles along the way, but the reality is that Cam needs more help. Fitzgerald could help out in a big way for the Panthers and could mentor Benjamin as well.
St. Louis Rams
To be fair, I think the Rams have done a nice job in upgrading at wideout as Kenny Britt's done a bangup job as a WR1. However, the Rams have to decide what to do at both quarterback and the offensive line. Word on the street is they will give Sam Bradford one more chance, and that offensive line can't be any worse than it was last year...can it? The Rams are a scary team, and Fitzgerald would only add to that.
New England Patriots
Because Bill Belichick is evil and Tom Brady just did this. Yikes.
Eddie Maisonet is the founder and editor emeritus of The Sports Fan Journal. Currently, he serves as an associate editor for ESPN.com. He is an unabashed Russell Westbrook and Barry Switzer apologist, owns over 100 fitteds and snapbacks, and lives by Reggie Jackson’s famous quote, “I am the straw that stirs the drink.”
