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Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald has been the subject of commentary and recent rumors. His contract is a major point of emphasis because of the huge salary cap hit it has for the coming season. More recently, his name came up connected to the New England Patriots, who were interested in acquiring him last offseason.
As a guest on Fox Sports Radio 910 with Mike Jurecki and Jody Oehler, the topic of restructuring his contract came up and, as Larry Fitzgerald would, sounded like the team player he has always been.
He was asked directly if he would be willing to redo his deal and the answer was clear. "Absolutely," he answered. "If that's what's needed to be done, that's what's needed to be done."
He cited the great relationship he has with general manager Steve Keim and said that he is "fully committed to improving" the Cardinals.
According to a tweet by Kent Somers, team president Michael Bidwill said that the team and Fitz' agent have had discussions and that the team is pleased that Fitzgerald will work with them.
Now, in the interview, when Fitz was asked about the talks, he said that "there hasn't been any conversation as of late," so if we can believe both Bidwill and the star receiver, the topic and discussions must have happened some time ago.
Something that has been emphasized by multiple writers that follow the Cardinals is the fact that Fitz is not going to take a paycut. Restructuring usually just means moving money around and giving a larger chunk right now. But when he was on with Arizona Sports 98.7 (via the Cardinals team site), it sounded like he might be open to a reduction in pay. "I understand at 30 years old there are things that need to change," he said. "That's part of football, that's part of being an older veteran."
It will be interesting to see how this turns out. It sounds like this will be an inevitability.
Now, it isn't as if the team will just ask him to take less money. If there is going be a pay cut, then I imagine that Keim will present Fitz with a plan that shows him how that extra money will be used to make the team better. That is, in my opinion, how that should be. He should not even be approached about this without the team showing him that the money will be used to potentially put the team over the top.
All that is left now is for it to happen. Let's get it done!
