Larry Fitzgerald, wide receiver, Arizona Cardinals
There was a question as to whether Fitzgerald would return for another season in the desert. With 13 years under his belt and a treasure trove of accomplishments to call his own, no one would have blamed the future Hall of Famer if he stepped away from the gridiron.
But for Fitz, there was more to be accomplished. Arizona’s struggles last season left a bitter taste in his mouth. Along with fellow veteran Carson Palmer, the idea of returning for a season to right that wrong seemed to make a lot of sense.
“I’m a year removed from being in a game like this, that’s competitive,” Fitzgerald said back in February. “I got David Johnson. I got Patrick Peterson. I got Tyrann Mathieu, Chandler Jones. All these super-talented guys coming back on this team. I can’t go out on 7-8-1. That’s not how I want to do it.”
Unfortunately, the 33-year-old Fitzgerald showed a steep decline in production last season. Sure he caught a league high 107 passes while putting up a tremendous 71 percent catch rate. The issue here is that Fitz averaged a career-low 9.6 yards per reception. That brought his average yards per target down to an absurdly low 6.8.
He’s no longer capable of stretching the field and keeping defenses honest. As the receiver’s athleticism continues to deteriorate so will his ability to make a huge impact. We have seen it with other great former receivers of Fitzgerald’s kind such as Reggie Wayne and Roddy White in the recent past.
Father Time catches up with you in a more rapid clip at wide receiver than any other position outside of running back. We saw the beginning stages with Fitz last season, and it’s only going to be taken to a whole new level in 2017.