In November -- three months before he officially announced he will play in the 2018 NFL season -- Larry Fitzgerald signed a one-year contract extension with the Arizona Cardinals.
Fitzgerald could have become a free agent after the 2017 season -- but by signing that extension, he essentially gave away his option to play for any other NFL team the following year.
There's a simple reason for that: Fitz, who has spent his entire NFL career in the Valley, doesn't intend on playing anywhere else as long as he's in the league.
“If I’m not playing in Arizona, I won’t be playing anywhere,” Fitzgerald told the Pioneer Press on Monday at his annual youth football camp in his home state of Minnesota.
“I’ve built a good life for myself down there. Playing in the same place for 15 years is a true blessing."
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Selected by the Cardinals with the third overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft, Fitzgerald has gone on to rewrite the team's record books. He is No. 3 in NFL history in receptions (1,234) and receiving yards (15,545) and could move into No. 2 on those lists (behind Jerry Rice in both categories) next season.
Last year, Fitzgerald became the third player in NFL history to make at least one catch in 200 consecutive games -- and the only player to make all of those catches with the same team.
As to how much he has left in the tank? Fitz said he'll have to wait and see.
"As an athlete, fortunately, you write your own script. If you still produce and you play at a high level, you kind of determine how long you want to play," Fitzgerald told the Pioneer Press. "If I can stay at a high level, I still keep destiny in my own hands.”
Fitzgerald and the Cardinals will begin their 2018 training camp under new head coach Steve Wilks on June 28 atUniversityof Phoenix Stadium in Glendale. In March, Fitzgerald told ABC15 he's excitedforthe upcoming season but is unsure what will be expected of him following the retirements of previous Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians and quarterback Carson Palmer.
