TEMPE, Ariz. -- The
Arizona Cardinals have made a lot of good decisions in the past few years.
Arizona, led by team president Michael Bidwill, has been making the right calls since it fired coach Ken Whisenhunt and general manager Rod Graves after the 2012 season. At that point, the locker room (and many games) were lost.
Then came a series of decisions that have framed the Cardinals' present and that will alter their future: promoting Steve Keim to general manager, hiring coach Bruce Arians and trading for quarterback
Carson Palmer.
The decision Wednesday to re-sign star receiver
Larry Fitzgerald is yet another in the long line of good decisions. It will leave its imprint on the Cardinals for years to come. Fitzgerald had been due an $8 million roster bonus in mid-March, which would bring his 2015 compensation to $16.25 million. His cap hit would have been $23.6 million.
Instead, the Cardinals gave Fitzgerald a new deal, re-signing him for two years and likely letting him finish his career with the Cardinals. Fitzgerald will receive $22 million in guaranteed money over the course of the new contract, according to ESPN sources and multiple reports.
It's the next in a long line of right decisions for a long line of good reasons.
First, as has been well-documented, is Fitzgerald's ability on the field. One reason his numbers declined last season -- the eight-time Pro Bowler had 784 receiving yards and a career-low two touchdowns in 2014 -- was his role in Arians' offense. Fitzgerald blocked more and was the Cardinals' second-most-targeted receiver on third downs in 2014, even though he caught more passes on third down than any of his teammates.
But he still has it.
Fitzgerald took a 4-yard pass over the middle 80 yards for a touchdown in Week 8 against the Eagles. He may not be as quick, but he is just as reliable. He had a drop percentage of 1 this past season.
Second, sure, his 2014 numbers were his lowest since his 2004 rookie season, but Fitzgerald was one of the most valuable players on the field. Case in point:
Michael Floyd, who was expected to replace Fitzgerald as the Cardinals' No. 1 receiver in 2014, had 37 receptions for 628 yards and six touchdowns when Fitzgerald was also on the field. But Floyd caught only six passes for 155 yards without a touchdown with Fitzgerald on the sideline.
Having Fitzgerald on the field instantly makes defenses wary. If they ease off Fitzgerald, he can make them pay. If they double or bracket him, another receiver is open. Even though he's a surefire Hall of Famer, he's still used as a decoy. And it works.
Third, losing Fitzgerald to free agency and another team would have been a major blow for the perception of the franchise. As a state, Arizona is already full of transient fan bases, so winning the battle to convert them into Cardinals' fans hasn't been easy -- especially before Arizona's run to the Super Bowl in 2008. But a constant during the past decade has been Fitzgerald. Take him away, and the Cardinals would lose the face of their franchise, their heart, their soul. And they'd lose some of their fan base. A franchise that still hasn't entrenched itself as an annual contender can't afford to let the one man people pay to see, whose jersey most fans wear, just walk away.
That's why keeping Fitzgerald is the right move for the Cardinals. It helps their product on and off the field. Like any aging star, the 31-year-old Fitzgerald isn't the 20-year-old version of himself. He changes, his game changes, the team changes.
But keeping him a Cardinal was the latest good decision by Bidwill and the Cardinals.