The Arizona Cardinals and their All-Pro wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald are trying to make things work for Fitzgerald to remain with the team in 2015.
According to NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport, the Cardinals and Fitzgerald’s agent have begun talks to discuss an agreement that would allow Arizona to keep the 31-year-old Fitzgerald a Cardinal until he retires.
Cardinals’ general manager Steve Keim had this to say about Fitzgerald today (via KMVP-FM).
It would be awfully tough for me to see Larry Fitzgerald wearing another uniform I don’t want to negotiate through the media. I have a lot of respect for not only the player — tremendous amount of respect for Larry Fitzgerald — but have a great relationship with (Fitzgerald’s agent) Eugene Parker, who I’ve worked with on a number of players.
In order to keep Fitzgerald, who is due $16 million in salary in 2015, another pay cut will be necessary. Fitzgerald’s contract also weighs a whopping $23.6 million towards the Cardinals’ overall salary cap. Last year Fitzgerald restructured his contract to appease his team, so expecting him to do it again might be too much to ask of the wide receiver.
If the Cardinals released Fitzgerald, they would open up $9.2 million in salary cap. However, it would not appear the team will go that route. On the other hand, a trade would gain the Cardinals $16 million in salary cap space while sending their all-time best receiver into the possession of another team.
Keim further went on to add regarding the negotiations…
The communication has been constant and hopefully we have a resolution that both parties are happy with. I think the biggest thing is, in any negotiation, you’ve got to find a balance where both parties feel like we have a good situation. And again, we’re working tirelessly — that’s my number one objective right now, it’s our number one objective as an organization, and we’ve said it all along and it hasn’t changed. Larry Fitzgerald, we want him to retire a Cardinal.
The organization really sounds like it wants Fitzgerald to retire as a Cardinal, so Fitzgerald is going to have to give something up on his end if he wishes the same. March 14 is the day that Fitzgerald is due an $8 million signing bonus, so it should be interesting to follow what happens over the next month.
Over his expansive 11-year career with the Cardinals, Fitzgerald has accumulated a total of 12,151 receiving yards and scored 89 touchdowns.
Should both parties not be able to reach an amicable solution, Fitzgerald could be added to an already impressive pool of free agent wide receivers.
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