CBS writer: Larry Fitzgerald a lock for the Hall of Fame

The last person who were a Cardinals football jersey to make the NFL Hall of Fame was Roger Wehrli, who was inducted in 2007.

A defensive back who played for the team from 1969 to 1982, he picked off 40 passes in his career as well as recovered 22 fumbles.

Kurt Warner will likely be the next to be enshrined, though there’s now way of knowing which team he will represent in peoples’ eyes. After all, Warner took the St. Louis Rams to two Super Bowls (winning one), and had some great years in The Lou.

But Larry Fitzgerald is different. All nine of his NFL seasons have been spent in Arizona, and it doesn’t look like he’ll be playing anywhere else anytime soon. So, when the time comes for Fitz to be enshrined, he’ll do so as an Arizona Cardinal.

And, according to CBSSports.com’s Pat Kirwan, Fitzgerald is a lock for Canton, ranking him seventh among a list of active players who could be heading to the Hall of Fame.

Can you imagine what Fitzgerald’s numbers would be if the Cardinals had good quarterbacks throughout his career? In 146 total games he has 806 receptions, 86 touchdowns and 101 receptions over 25 yards. Michael Irvin is in the HOF with 837 receptions, 77 touchdowns and 98 receptions over 25 yards in 23 more games than Fitzgerald.

It’s not exactly breaking news that Fitzgerald, 29, is on a Hall of Fame trajectory. However, the idea that he’s already done enough to warrant enshrinement is an interesting take.

Fitzgerald’s record-setting postseason run during the Cardinals’ march to Super Bowl XLIII certainly helps, as does his mostly consistent production as one of the game’s elite pass catchers.

Then again, while no one will argue the receiver’s talent or production, his last couple seasons have not exactly been great. But Kirwan notes what we all know — that poor QB play is as much to blame as anything else for Fitz’s down numbers — and is not at all ready to hold it against him.

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