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The new year of the league has started and one of the biggest recipients of all time can be signed by anyone.
Cardinals recipient Larry Fitzgerald is a free agent for the first time in his career.
Fitzgerald did not reveal his plans for 2021. Arizona’s deal with receiver AJ Green strongly suggests that Fitzgerald will not return.
With DeAndre Hopkins, Christian Kirk and Green in the squad, the fourth guy on the depth table (Green or Fitzgerald) would take the place of a younger player who would normally contribute to special teams. In addition, with Green earning $ 8 million and Hopkins at the top of the market, it can be difficult to make a significant financial investment in a fourth receiver.
The immediate reaction around the league to Green’s signing is that Fitzgerald is not coming back, and the Cardinals know that. The question then is whether he would join another team.
He never looked like a guy who would play for a team other than the Cardinals. During the 2020 season, however, he said he would retire if the Cardinals won the Super Bowl. Perhaps Fitzgerald will be able to run a definitive race with another team that is much closer to true Super Bowl contender status, such as the Chiefs or Buccaneers (if Antonio Brown is not back).