Those paying attention this offseason may have noticed that one foregone conclusion might not actually be foregone. Larry Fitzgerald turns 38 next month and the Cardinals signed veteran A.J. Green in free agency rather than bringing him back, but Fitzgerald never actually retired. Here we are in July, and it sounds like the Hall of Famer plans to play this season.
"Training camp starts in a few weeks," Fitzgerald said on ESPN. "I’m excited, it’s going to be another great year for the NFL.”
Fitzgerald is three years removed from his last 1,000-yard season, and last year he posted the lowest numbers of his career -- catches (54), yards (409) and touchdowns (1). He averaged a running-back like 7.6 yards per catch last year, so wherever he signs he should only be considered in PPR leagues, and even then as a very late-round option.
But he's Larry Fitzgerald, and if he does commit to playing, he'll have a market. While whatever speed or athleticism he may have once had is long gone, he's still as reliable as they come on shorter throws and in traffic. He'll still catch everything thrown his way, and those guys will find NFL jobs.
Over the last two seasons, he's had 130 catchable passes thrown his way. He'd dropped just one of them. That's tops among all wideouts with at least 100 catchable targets the last two seasons.
| WIDE RECEIVER DROPS, 2019-2020 (100 TARGETS) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Tgt | Rec | Drop | Pct |
| Larry Fitzgerald | 130 | 129 | 1 | 0.8% |
| Sterling Shepard | 125 | 123 | 2 | 1.6% |
| Chris Godwin | 155 | 151 | 4 | 2.6% |
| DeAndre Hopkins | 225 | 219 | 6 | 2.7% |
| Michael Thomas | 196 | 189 | 7 | 3.6% |
| Danny Amendola | 112 | 108 | 4 | 3.6% |
| Emmanuel Sanders | 132 | 127 | 5 | 3.8% |
| Davante Adams | 206 | 198 | 8 | 3.9% |
| Tyler Boyd | 176 | 169 | 7 | 4.0% |
| Robert Woods | 188 | 180 | 8 | 4.3% |
| Julio Jones | 157 | 150 | 7 | 4.5% |
| Amari Cooper | 179 | 171 | 8 | 4.5% |
| DJ Chark | 132 | 126 | 6 | 4.5% |
| Terry McLaurin | 152 | 145 | 7 | 4.6% |
| Cooper Kupp | 195 | 186 | 9 | 4.6% |
| Brandin Cooks | 129 | 123 | 6 | 4.7% |
| Keenan Allen | 214 | 204 | 10 | 4.7% |
| Allen Robinson | 210 | 200 | 10 | 4.8% |
| Christian Kirk | 122 | 116 | 6 | 4.9% |
| Cole Beasley | 157 | 149 | 8 | 5.1% |
| Tyler Lockett | 192 | 182 | 10 | 5.2% |
| Tyreek Hill | 153 | 145 | 8 | 5.2% |
| Hunter Renfrow | 111 | 105 | 6 | 5.4% |
| A.J. Brown | 129 | 122 | 7 | 5.4% |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster | 147 | 139 | 8 | 5.4% |
| Russell Gage | 128 | 121 | 7 | 5.5% |
| Marvin Jones | 146 | 138 | 8 | 5.5% |
| Calvin Ridley | 162 | 153 | 9 | 5.6% |
| T.Y. Hilton | 107 | 101 | 6 | 5.6% |
| Corey Davis | 115 | 108 | 7 | 6.1% |
| John Brown | 112 | 105 | 7 | 6.3% |
| Robby Anderson | 157 | 147 | 10 | 6.4% |
| Anthony Miller | 108 | 101 | 7 | 6.5% |
| Jarvis Landry | 166 | 155 | 11 | 6.6% |
| D.J. Moore | 164 | 153 | 11 | 6.7% |
| Mike Williams | 104 | 97 | 7 | 6.7% |
| Stefon Diggs | 204 | 190 | 14 | 6.9% |
| Adam Thielen | 112 | 104 | 8 | 7.1% |
| Marquise Brown | 112 | 104 | 8 | 7.1% |
| Will Fuller | 110 | 102 | 8 | 7.3% |
| Jamison Crowder | 148 | 137 | 11 | 7.4% |
| Mike Evans | 148 | 137 | 11 | 7.4% |
| Darius Slayton | 106 | 98 | 8 | 7.5% |
| Odell Beckham Jr. | 105 | 97 | 8 | 7.6% |
| Randall Cobb | 101 | 93 | 8 | 7.9% |
| DeVante Parker | 147 | 135 | 12 | 8.2% |
| Curtis Samuel | 143 | 131 | 12 | 8.4% |
| D.K. Metcalf | 156 | 141 | 15 | 9.6% |
| Diontae Johnson | 166 | 147 | 19 | 11.4% |
| Julian Edelman | 137 | 121 | 16 | 11.7% |
| Deebo Samuel | 102 | 90 | 12 | 11.8% |
| Michael Gallup | 142 | 125 | 17 | 12.0% |
Merely being efficient and a Hall of Famer doesn't automatically ensure fantasy value. Most likely his best-case scenario is signing as a No. 3 somewhere, and it's not certain which team has a veteran need. For him to really generate interest, it will need to be with a good quarterback on a team that seems to have an iffy depth chart at wide receiver. Green Bay, Las Vegas...Kansas City?
You're probably not going to win a fantasy league with a 38-year-old wideout, but I'm not ruling out him making an impact somewhere. And it'd be nice to see one of the all-time greats involved in another playoff run.
--Andy Richardson