TEMPE, Ariz. — It’s early March, and Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald has yet to announce his intentions for the 2021 NFL season.
But the Cardinals are letting the 17-year veteran take his time.
Arizona general manager Steve Keim said during a videoconference call Wednesday that he didn’t have anything to report on Fitzgerald’s status for the upcoming season.
“I’ve said it a few times that you know he deserves that space,” Keim said. “At some point in time, I’m sure we’ll talk to him here in the near future.”
Fitzgerald, 37, has played the past five seasons on one-year contracts each worth $11 million, which has led the 11-time Pro Bowler to have to make a decision on his future each of those years. The latest he had decided to play since 2016 was Feb. 15 in 2018.
But Keim said he doesn’t need Fitzgerald to make a decision by the start of the league year on March 17, despite the lowered leaguewide salary cap.
Fitzgerald, who’ll turn 38 in August, has said in the past that when he decides to retire, he’ll just walk away quietly, not wanting the pomp and circumstance or farewell tour that sometimes accompanies players’ retirements.
Keim said jokingly that Fitzgerald is waiting to announce his decision on purpose.
“Knowing him, he’s probably just trying to make me sweat,” Keim said. “But, no, I don’t know. It’s a private thing for a player, and we’ve always given Larry space and he’s taken his time, which, again, there’s nobody that deserves that more than him.”