Are there any realistic situations Fitzgerald stays on the team?

[the_future23]

Obviously they could theoretically keep him and swallow that enormous cap hit. But is that and cutting him the only option? There are no more restructures, are there? He can't sign a "new" cap friendly contract (lower salary). Can someone explain this situation in depth with the new cap number projection coming out next year.

 

[kerouac9]

The option is that Fitzgerald likes the direction the franchise is going and is willing to take a steep, steep pay cut. About half of what he's scheduled to make. Maybe a quarter of that or something can be restructured.

Ironically, it's possible that Stanton's injury could cost him $2M in a playing time incentive that would have escalated his 2015 salary by $2M.

 

[BigRedRage]

From what I know, they cannot simply shred this contract and do a new one can they? I would assume if that was possible we can provide fair market value other teams will offer and he can stay on a contender. The guy has all the money in the world and like ly has two goals, keep padding his stats for the HOF and get a super bowl win. His odds of getting a win here are as good as anywhere else so for the super bowl I see no reason to leave if the money is similar. For stat padding, he could likely get more stats elsewhere.

 

[GatorAZ]

Could you really blame Fitz for not restructuring, forcing a release and signing in GB or NE to cement his HOF and SB winning legacy. I couldn't.

 

[Sandan]

It's up to Fitz and that was his intention from day 1

 

[Mainstreet]

Could you really blame Fitz for not restructuring, forcing a release and signing in GB or NE to cement his HOF and SB winning legacy. I couldn't.

I can understand the lure of money and perhaps a better chance of winning a championship but this is never what I thought Fitz was about.

 

[imaCafan]

I assumed they could add maybe 2 years and restructure his $$$ to better help the team, no? How long is his deal?

 

[NJCardFan]

They damned well better keep him here. Simple math: Since Palmer went down:

Games without Fitz: 0-2
Games with Fitz: 2-0

 

[Shane]

They damned well better keep him here. Simple math: Since Palmer went down:

Games without Fitz: 0-2
Games with Fitz: 2-0

That's fuzzy math... WRs just aren't that important especially ones whose skills have declined.

 

[GatorAZ]

I can understand the lure of money and perhaps a better chance of winning a championship but this is never what I thought Fitz was about.

Just the lure of a championship. He would be taking a pay cut to sign with another team. Before Palmer went down I thought there was a good chance he'd stay because it was the first time this team had stability at the QB position.

 

[Mitch]

Just the lure of a championship. He would be taking a pay cut to sign with another team. Before Palmer went down I thought there was a good chance he'd stay because it was the first time this team had stability at the QB position.

Good post, GH. I believe that Larry and Steve Keim could possibly meet somewhere in the middle in their pursuit of a championship. Having Carson Palmer signed for the next few years may very well be an auspicious factor....although there is a chance that Fitz hasn't felt that Carson Palmer has targeted him enough, and that BA's offense asks him to do things he would just as prefer not to do, if he had the choice.

Therefore, the one scenario that prevents this from happening, imho, is that Fitz forces his hand because he has his eye on another team like the Broncos, Patriots or Packers.

 

[slanidrac16]

Years ago I would say no.

Today's Cardinals will somehow make this work.

 

[cardfaninfl]

Larry will be a Cardinal as long as Fitz wants to play football. His contract really holds both sides to Larry playing his home games in Arizona. No other team will pay Larry what he is earning with this contract, and the Cardinals would be severely handicapped with his "Dead Money" being counted against the cap if he was released.

Fitz will have his contract restructured, again. This will give needed room in the Salary Cap, Larry (and his agent) will receive a nice part of the contract turned into a Signing Bonus (along with the PR move of how focused he is to helping the organization), and the Cardinals will have a media opportunity to announce their commitment to the face of their franchise. The only difference, this time, is with Fitz increased age his agent will not have the Cardinals at barrel point as much as he did in the past.

 

[juza76]

No
He cares about the t eam and the organization but in the same time he cares also about stats like nobody else and after some sub par seasons (not his fault)he want play for a better offense and with a better qb

 

[the_future23]

Good post, GH. I believe that Larry and Steve Keim could possibly meet somewhere in the middle in their pursuit of a championship. Having Carson Palmer signed for the next few years may very well be an auspicious factor....although there is a chance that Fitz hasn't felt that Carson Palmer has targeted him enough, and that BA's offense asks him to do things he would just as prefer not to do, if he had the choice.

Therefore, the one scenario that prevents this from happening, imho, is that Fitz forces his hand because he has his eye on another team like the Broncos, Patriots or Packers.

Larry will be a Cardinal as long as Fitz wants to play football. His contract really holds both sides to Larry playing his home games in Arizona. No other team will pay Larry what he is earning with this contract, and the Cardinals would be severely handicapped with his "Dead Money" being counted against the cap if he was released.

Fitz will have his contract restructured, again. This will give needed room in the Salary Cap, Larry (and his agent) will receive a nice part of the contract turned into a Signing Bonus (along with the PR move of how focused he is to helping the organization), and the Cardinals will have a media opportunity to announce their commitment to the face of their franchise. The only difference, this time, is with Fitz increased age his agent will not have the Cardinals at barrel point as much as he did in the past.

It's my understanding though that the Cardinals can't restructure (or if they do it won't impact cap hit next season). So they're on the hook for what, $24 mil unless they release him. Is this correct?

 

[don7031]

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/arizona-cardinals/larry-fitzgerald/

http://www.spotrac.com/rankings/nfl/average/wide-receiver/limit-25/

We are considering it a done deal that Fitz is gone, but we don't know what was said to the Fitzgerald camp when they restructured his deal. The fan in me doesn't want him gone so maybe I'm grasping at straws in hoping they have a verbal agreement not to release him.

 

[kerouac9]

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/arizona-cardinals/larry-fitzgerald/

http://www.spotrac.com/rankings/nfl/average/wide-receiver/limit-25/

We are considering it a done deal that Fitz is gone, but we don't know what was said to the Fitzgerald camp when they restructured his deal. The fan in me doesn't want him gone so maybe I'm grasping at straws in hoping they have a verbal agreement not to release him.

We did him a favor in the restructuring. It's not like there's a quid pro quo going on.

 

[Garthshort]

He'll be back. Don't know how, but he'll be back.

 

[don7031]

We did him a favor in the restructuring. It's not like there's a quid pro quo going on.

Unless you are suggesting that the Cardinals were going to release Fitz this year, it was the other way around. Fitz agreed to restructure to give the Cardinals cap room for this season.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/10404094/larry-fitzgerald-restructures-deal-arizona-cardinals

 

[kerouac9]

Unless you are suggesting that the Cardinals were going to release Fitz this year, it was the other way around. Fitz agreed to restructure to give the Cardinals cap room for this season.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/10404094/larry-fitzgerald-restructures-deal-arizona-cardinals

I guess, but it's like your allowing your boss to pay your entiremsalary for the year in March instead of paying it our over the next 30-odd weeks.

No one in the NFL a says no to that "good" restructure.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

If Jerry Rice, Brett Favre, Joe Montana, and countless others, and better players than Fitz, ended their careers in different uniforms, no one should be surprised, or mad, if Fitz does.

I think Keim will have a number in mind, and may have a some wiggle room to it, but won't allow Fitz's cap # to hinder the team moving forward.

That being said, I think Fitz is still pretty important to this offense. He's still the guy defenses worry about and Floyd hasn't stepped up and assumed a larger role. When Fitz has been playing well and is targeted, the offense has been at it's best this year.

On the other hand, this offense seems to be more predicated on spreading the ball around and whoever is open gets the ball. Still, I think it would not be wise to discount the value of a #1 WR like Fitz still is.

 

[Darkside]

I don't know man. I have this sick feeling that BA thinks he can win with anyone and that Keim will just build depth. That's the feeling I get from this team bro. I think they build rosters off Keim and software and BA makes it work and I don't think Fitz or Dock fit into it.

 

[b8rtm8nn]

I think BA will build to win with anyone Keim gives him and if Keim gives him Fitz, BA will be happier than not having Fitz. Which is good, because Keim seems to really want to keep Fitz a while longer. Doesn't mean Fitz stays though, numbers may not add up - but Keim will likely make a good offer to Fitz, IMO.

 

[overseascardfan]

I heard a very profound statement, not sure if it was on this board but either Fitz takes a pay cut to play here or he takes a pay cut to play elsewhere. He ain't going to make $20M+ anywhere next season. So money shouldn't be the issue, it's where does he feel he can win a SB.

 

[splitsecond]

Good god the doom and gloom is back in full force and we have 11 wins. Can we get some sort of banishment on threads like these until after the playoffs?


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