Cardinals to Honor Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald During their October 25th Game Against the Denver Broncos

There haven’t been a lot of bright spots in the Super Bowl era for the Arizona Cardinals, which is why it is important to celebrate the franchise’s best player. Larry Fitzgerald will have his number 11 jersey retired and will be added to the team’s ring of honor at halftime of the team’s October 25th match-up with the Denver Broncos. 

I think it is fair to say that Fitzgerald is the greatest player to ever play for the Cardinals. Drafted with the 3rd overall pick in the 2004 NFL draft. He made an immediate impact as a rookie, catching 58 passes for 780 yards and 8 touchdowns. 

His dominant run as one of the league’s best receivers would begin in earnest in 2005 when he led the league in receptions with 103 while adding 1,409 yards and 10 touchdowns. In 2008, he set a career high for yards with 1,431 receiving yards. 

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That season would be one of the greatest in franchise history as Fitzgerald helped Arizona make the Super Bowl for the first time. He would record the greatest postseason by a receiver in league history with 30 receptions for 546 yards and 7 touchdowns in 4 games. While they would ultimately lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers, his postseason run is still considered one of the most impressive by a positional player. 

He would finish his 17-year career with 1,432 receptions for 17,492 yards and 121 touchdowns. He is second all-time in receptions and yards behind only Jerry Rice, who many rightly consider the greatest receiver of all time. He is currently sixth all time for touchdowns. He was named a First-team All-Pro in 2008, a Second-team All-Pro in 2009, and 2001. Made the Pro Bowl 11 times, was named to the 2010s All-Decade Team, and the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team. He was also known for his off-field charitable endeavors, which won him the 2016 Walter Payton Man of the Year award. 

To put it simply, very few players have ever risen to the heights of greatness that Fitzgerald did. As such, perhaps no one in the modern era deserves to be in a ring of honor and have their jersey retired more than number 11.

from Men's Journal https://ift.tt/I9Ah1Ze