| Andrew Perna. 12th March, 2008 - 12:45 pm
 The Cardinals kept Pro Bowl wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald in Arizona for the next four years on Tuesday after agreeing to terms on a new contract. While keeping Fitzgerald in red-and-white was very important for the Cardinals, the structure of the deal might have a greater effect on Arizona’s future than any single player.
The deal, worth $40 million over four years, helped the team free up some much-needed room in the salary-cap department.
Fitzgerald’s contract is front-loaded. He will make $33 million over the first three years of the deal, meaning that the Cardinals will owe him just $7 million in the fourth year (2011).
Arizona wanted to sign their leading wide receiver to a six-year deal, but Fitzgerald insisted on a four-year pact. They may not have gotten the length they wanted, but the former Pittsburgh standout showed his commitment to the team by agreeing to give them some cap relief in the not-so-distant future.
Fitzgerald was one of the NFL’s top receivers last season, grabbing 100 passes for 1,409 yards and 10 touchdowns in Arizona. He ranked behind only Randy Moss, Reggie Wayne, and Chad Johnson in terms of the Field Impact Counter (FIC).
That placed him above guys like Terrell Owens, Torry Holt, and Plaxico Burress last season – something that might surprise some because his mouth and name aren’t nearly as large as they could be as he heads into his fifth NFL season.
The former third overall pick (2004) has been extremely consistent when healthy throughout his career.
Fitzgerald has missed just four games in his career, often playing through pain in order to provide the Cardinals with a prime target in the passing game. He caught 103 passes for 1,409 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2005, the exact same production he put up in 2007 (plus three catches). That kind of consistency is unheard of in any sport, let alone the most physically demanding.
In 2006, Larry missed three games while being hampered in a handful of others. Despite far from perfect health, Fitzgerald still posted 69 catches for 946 yards and six touchdowns.
In addition to catching nearly everything Arizona quarterbacks throw his way, Fitzgerald opens up space for Anquan Boldin on the other side.
Boldin, when healthy, is easily one of the game’s top receivers, as well.
The Cardinals have a very healthy air attack and will for the foreseeable future after inking Fitzgerald. They had the fifth-highest receiving total in the league last year, averaging 264.3 yards per game. With the continued growth of Matt Leinart and the possibility that the aging, but steady, Kurt Warner will sign an extension to remain in Arizona, scoring points should not be an issue.
An elite quarterback, who is ready to be the man right now, would certainly propel the Cardinals’ offensive attack even higher, but Arizona doesn’t have that luxury.
With that said, the offense figures to be even more dangerous next season with Boldin healing over the offseason. He had 71 receptions for 853 yards and nine touchdowns last season despite playing in just twelve games and being hobbled in others by a hip injury.
Grade for the Cardinals: A-
As mentioned above, keeping Fitzgerald in red-and-white was important, but the salary-cap relief that the Cardinals received in the deal will be paying dividends long after Larry’s newest contract has expired.
All along, both Fitzgerald and the Cardinals made it known that their first priority was to agree on a new deal, but the finality of this signing hurts teams like Philadelphia, who are in dire need of a receiver.
Grade for Eagles: C-
Several sources claimed that the Eagles offered cornerback Lito Sheppard and receiver Reggie Brown to Arizona in exchange for Fitzgerald, but the deal never seemed to carry much weight from the Cardinals’ point of view. Nonetheless, Donovan McNabb is still without an elite target.
Andrew Perna is a Senior Writer for RealGM.com. Please feel free to contact him via e-mail (Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com) with comments or questions. |
