ARIZONA CARDINALS

Bruce Arians on Larry Fitzgerald: ‘We definitely and desperately want him to stay’

Jan 30, 2015, 5:11 PM | Updated: 11:55 pm

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Until Larry Fitzgerald’s contract situation is resolved, it will be a topic of conversation.

We know the team is not going to keep him at the cost of a $23.6 million cap hit in 2015, which means either his deal is going to be restructured or he is going to be released.

Whenever asked, Cardinals president Michael Bidwill has maintained the plan is to work something out that will keep the best receiver in team history in the Valley, but that does not mean everyone is sure that will be the case.

After all, until the deal is signed, it’s a possibility Fitz has played his last down for the Arizona Cardinals.

“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t,” Cardinals coach Bruce Arians told Doug and Wolf on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Friday when asked if he was nervous about Fitzgerald’s future. “We definitely and desperately want him to stay, and he knows that.

“It’s really his decision.”

Fitzgerald caught 63 passes for 784 yards and two touchdowns last season, numbers that were down in large part because of injuries to him as well as the team’s quarterbacks.

His receptions total led the team, though, and his 39 first downs help to illustrate just how important he is to the team’s offense. While the 31-year-old may not be the player he was when he was setting records during Arizona’s run to Super Bowl XLIII six years ago, it does not seem like the team is quite ready to move in a different direction.

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Bruce Arians on Larry Fitzgerald: ‘We definitely and desperately want him to stay’