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The NFL offseason brings strange news and rumors sometimes, and the week of the Super Bowl is no exception. In a report from Tom Curran of Comcast Sports Net New England, he reveals that the New England Patriots were interested in acquiring Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald.
He states that all the speculation of interest was really nothing -- there was no smoke. However, a "well-placed source" revealed to him that the Pats "were indeed interested in acquiring Fitzgerald and sent out feelers to gauge the feasibility."
What exactly does this mean? Did they contact Larry's agent? Did they make a call to Steve Keim? Did they just talk to people not in the Cardinals organization to see what was being said around the team?
Curran notes that he does not know when this was, whether it was before or after the Aaron Hernandez murder arrest. He speculates that perhaps New England will do more than put feelers out, but make an actual inquiry or trade offer.
There is one big, looming question that will dog the Arizona Cardinals until something is done to resolve it -- what will the team do with Larry Fitzgerald's huge contract? Will they leave it the way it is? Will they trade him? Will the cut him? Will they be able to restructure the deal?
His production is down and he isn't getting younger, He holds an $18 million salary cap number for 2014.
But all signs point to his returning and staying in Arizona.
That doesn't mean that he wouldn't be a perfect fit in New England. He would be the perfect player to have out there for Tom Brady. I think it would make the AFC really, really interesting.
Will it happen? It seems preposterous. What could the Cards get in return? Teams usually are willing to part with talent and picks OR pick up the salary of a burdensome contract. Arizona would want both to happen.
Of course the Pats would love to have him. But Arizona loves him, too.
Would you take that call and have a real discussion if you were Keim and got that phone call from the Pats? Should they consider trading him? Would it make this current Cardinals better or worse? Discuss it in the comments below.
