Adam Schefter has written that the Cardinals have had conversations with Larry Fitzgerald about the team's quarterback situation. We know that one of the issues that must be resolved for the Cardinals to be able to sign Fitzgerald to a contract extension is that of who will be throwing him the ball. Fitz has made it very clear that what he wants to do more than anything is win. He wants to come back to the Cardinals, but he also wants it to be a situation in which he believes they will be a playoff team and have the talent to make it back to the Super Bowl. He also wants to be paid, as he well deserves.
Without knowing exactly the context of these conversations with Fitzgerald, it is interesting that his thoughts were right in line with what pretty much the team would prefer and what fans are hoping. His first recommendation was Philadelphia's Kevin Kolb and he also brought up soon-to-be free agent Marc Bulger.
It has long been known that Bulger is a guy that Ken Whisenhunt wants. If it had been up to him, Bulger would have been here in 2010, but because of the money already committed to Matt Leinart and Derek Anderson, the front office vetoed him.
Kolb will be tricky because of the lack of a collective bargaining agreement in place between the league and the players. No players can be moved before a new CBA is in place. If this does not happen before the draft, it would be doubtful that Philly would trade Kolb. His contract is reasonable and they would not get anyone to help the team this year unless Arizona drafted a player that the Eagles coveted.
It is very important to note that Fitzgerald has his priorities straight. He wants to win. That is what he wants to do most. Having found success and gone to the Super Bowl, he wants nothing more than to go back.
He is of course desiring to be paid like the best wide receiver in the league, which can definitely be argued that he is. The guy had a Pro Bowl year with four different bad quarterbacks throwing him the ball -- Derek Anderson (couldn't beat out Brady Quinn, who can't beat out Tim Tebow, who many still believe will not even be a good NFL quarterback), Max Hall (high in moxie, but we learned this year that moxie doesn't throw touchdowns), John Skelton (rookie project who thought Andre Roberts was the guy to throw the most to, rather than Fitzgerald) and Richard Bartel (couldn't even start in the UFL).
He is a team-changing guy. He leads by word and by example. He produces on the field.
Is any of this news ground-breaking? No. It does tell us a couple of things. First, the team cares about what he thinks (a positive). Secondly, he did not mention guys like Peyton Manning or Tom Brady (or maybe he did). It also tells us that the fans have the right idea. Kolb or Bulger is who fans are hoping for (here at SB Nation Arizona, we want Bulger), they have been known to be targets of the team and Fitzgerald appears to be in line with that thinking.
We should not expect the Fitzgerald contract situation to go away soon. He is going to wait and see what moves the team makes in the offseason. But we should rest assured that he is interested in staying and is being completely reasonable with who he would like to be throwing him the ball in 2011, if in fact there is an NFL season in 2011.
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