Arizona Cardinals star Larry Fitzgerald not ready to retire

PHOENIX – That Hall of Fame slot will have to stay vacant for a while. Larry Fitzgerald isn't ready to hang up the cleats just yet.

The receiver, whose career statistics rank among the best ever to play the game, has signed a one-year contract to return for a 16th season with the Arizona Cardinals.

"No player has meant more to this franchise or this community than Larry Fitzgerald," team President Michael Bidwill said Wednesday in the news release announcing the signing.

Fitzgerald, a Minneapolis native who played at Holy Angels before starring at Pitt, explained his decision in an Instagram post.

"A fire burned inside of me my rookie year," he wrote, "a desire, over all else, to be great. To excel on the field. To impact the lives of others off of it. I'm grateful that the fire still burns just as bright today, and that this organization has let me chase that fire for well over a decade."

Fitzgerald continued: "Nothing excites me more than continuing to chase greatness with everyone here on and off the field."

Fitzgerald, who will be 36 before the next season begins, may have been enticed by the hiring of Kliff Kingsbury to replace the fired Steve Wilks. Kingsbury will bring his "air raid" offense from Texas Tech, where he coached for six seasons, and brought in veteran assistant coach Tom Clements to work with quarterback Josh Rosen, who had a rocky rookie season.

Bidwill said in an interview with the team's flagship radio station, 98.7 FM Arizona's Sports Station, that he believes Kingsbury's hiring helped lure Fitzgerald back.

"I think they had a great conversation and he's excited about focusing on the offense," Bidwill said. "Obviously, he was very disappointed as all of us were in 2018. He bleeds Cardinal red. He wants to be part of getting this turned around. It's exciting he was able to make a quick decision and get right to it."

Arizona went 3-13 last season, the worst record in the NFL and matching the worst for the Cardinals since the franchise moved to the desert from St. Louis 30 years ago. The Cardinals finished last in the league in total offense, passing and rushing.

Consequently, it was a down year for Fitzgerald statistically, too. After three straight 100-catch seasons, Fitzgerald had 69 receptions for 734 yards and six touchdowns. He did, however, throw his first career TD pass, against the Rams in the next-to-last game of the season.

Fitzgerald has been remarkably durable in his career. He's caught a pass in 227 consecutive games, the second-longest such streak in NFL history.

With 16,279 yards receiving, Fitzgerald passed Hall of Famer Terrell Owens for second (behind Jerry Rice) on the NFL career list. With 1,303 career catches, he passed Rice for most receptions for one team in his career. By playing in the season finale at Seattle, Fitzgerald tied kicker Jim Bakken for most games by a Cardinal at 234.

Fitzgerald needs 23 catches to pass Antonio Gates into second (again behind Rice) in career receptions.