Larry Fitzgerald will play for Cardinals next season

Two important Arizona Cardinals have been surrounded by retirement rumors, but Larry Fitzgerald has ended speculation about his future.

For someone who just led the league with 107 receptions, conventional wisdom may suggest retirement is not on the horizon. But at 33 years old (34 in August) retirement speculation has increased for Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald in recent years.

Questions about the futures of Fitzgerald and Cardinals’ quarterback Carson Palmer date back to just before the regular season ended. Palmer’s every move is essentially being tracked, with broad conclusions drawn, but earlier this week Fitzgerald simply said he was close to announcing a decision on his own future.

Well, we didn’t have to wait much longer for news of Fitzgerald’s decision.

Just spoke to Larry Fitzgerald, who said he’s definitely returning in 2017 to play the final year on his contract. #Cardinals

— Jim Trotter (@JimTrotter_NFL) February 2, 2017

As ESPN’s Jim Trotter alluded to, 2017 is the final year of Fitzgerald’s contract and he’s due to make $11 million. The money aspect is surely not an issue for Fitzgerald, but further cementing his status as an all-time great is surely his priority in what will likely be his final NFL season.

Fitzgerald is essentially locked into third all-time in receptions, with a big gap between he and second place Tony Gonzalez. But another 1,000-yard season would take him from ninth all-time in receiving yards all the way up to third, and six touchdowns (like he had in 2016) would make Fitzgerald the eighth guy in NFL history with at least 110 touchdown receptions.

Fitzgerald and Palmer returning for the 2017 season seems like a package deal for the Cardinals and head coach Bruce Arians. So maybe Fitzgerald knows Palmer’s plans before the rest of the world does, and before too long Palmer will make a similar declaration that he’s going to give it one more shot next season.