Larry Fitzgerald rumors: Cardinals looking to trade Fitzgerald?

Larry Fitzgerald is going to get expensive for the Arizona Cardinals in the seasons to come. Will that motivate the Cardinals to explore trades for Fitzgerald?

Larry Fitzgerald is the face of the Arizona Cardinals. He has been with them through thick and thin and a lot of bad quarterback play over the years. He is going to be enshrined in Canton someday.

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To reward him for that body of work, the Cardinals signed Fitzgerald to lucrative seven-year, $113 million deal in 2011. The yearly hits on that contract go up over the next couple seasons, to $8 million in 2015 and then $15 million in 2016 (per Spotrac).

Those numbers stand to be problematic for the Cardinals, and so the following question has lingered for a while now: should the Cardinals trade Fitzgerald while his value is still high to get out from under that contract? John Weinfuss of ESPN.com believes that move might be coming this off-season:

"I think after this season they’ll consider all the possible options. I don’t think it’s a secret that New England could use Larry Fitzgerald. When the numbers are broken down, it’s actually affordable for a team to sign him after a trade. Then the question becomes what can the New England Patriots offer the Cardinals? With 11 contracts expiring after this season, Arizona will have needs but can the Patriots fill them is what a potential trade will come down to."

Fitzgerald is still one of the most complete receivers in the NFL, even though his numbers often don’t show it. This season Fitzgerald has just 10 catches for 107 yards and no touchdowns. Even still, it seems to be common knowledge that he can still be a stud. That would make the trade market for him quite interesting, with the Patriots and with any other interested teams.

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