Aging Fitzgerald Explains Production Plummet
PHOENIX, April 24 (UPI) — For Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, freakish athletic abilities have made him a mainstay as an elite wide receiver for the better part of a decade.
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Now Fitzgerald, 31, says “it’s not possible” to generate his once stud numbers in his current offense.
“No, it’s not possible,” Fitzgerald told Burns & Gambo of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM in Phoenix. “And it’s only that reason, because of the role that I play. It’s a different role. I just don’t have the opportunities down the field. I’m more inside, I move the chains a lot more. So in terms of putting up the big numbers, it will be difficult. But in terms of my effectiveness, of providing first downs, being able to make tough catches for my team, I’m still going to be able to do that.”
Fitzgerald had 63 catches for 784 yards and just two touchdowns in 2014. In 170 career games, Fitzgerald has 909 receptions for 12,151 yards and 89 touchdowns.
“I can still play the game at a high level, given the opportunity to go out there and thrive,” Fitzgerald told the Arizona Republic. “It was fluke stuff, too. You work so hard to get yourself physically ready to go and you see it happen just that fast. You see Andre Ellington making a cut, or Carson Palmer being hit on his knee. You take for granted your health, sometimes.”
This offseason, Fitzgerald signed a two-year deal worth $22 million, all of which is guaranteed.
