The Arizona Cardinals may look at the trade or release of Larry Fitzgerald this offseason if he doesn't take a pay cut and this comes as names like Antonio Cromartie, John Abraham, Dan Williams, Ryan Lindley, Mike Leach, Larry Foote and Rob Housler are hitting the free agent market into the 2015 offseason.
The Cardinals were one of the best teams in the NFC this year, but they ended up losing in the playoffs against the Carolina Panthers on the road. The team ended up using a number of different quarterbacks after losing Carson Palmer to an injury, including Drew Stanton and Ryan Lindley. Stanton went down and that left Lindley to take over in the playoffs against the Panthers and the Cardinals put up an anemic offensive performance.
According to Fox Sports Arizona, there is a chance that Fitzgerald could be playing elsewhere in 2015, as he has a high cap hit at $23 million and may not be willing to take a pay cut. Fitzgerald already worked his deal once and while he is a Hall of Fame player, at 31 he is declining and the Cardinals likely cannot handle that cap hit with how many free agents they have. Fitzgerald has a roster bonus in March and that could be when the decision is made.
Fitzgerald was the leader for the team in receiving, but he had just 63 catches for 784 yards and two touchdowns this season. Fitzgerald's numbers were more in line with his rookie season and the two scores were a career low. Fitzgerald could be on the way out with the emergence of John Brown and Kichael Floyd for the Cardinals. The Cardinals were in position to win the NFC West this season, but the Seahawks were able to catch up and take the division down the stretch. The Cardinals found it hard to be a consistent offensive team without Palmer at quarterback and that hurt the team in the second half of the season.
The Cardinals went 11-5 last season and ended up having to travel to play Carolina despite the Panthers having a losing record. Losing Palmer was very tough for the Cardinals and now they have some major questions heading into 2015. The front office is optimistic that Palmer will make a full recovery, but that will be his second major knee surgery. Fitzgerald is still up in the air and the team needs to make some major upgrades on offense, as they were second worst in the league in rushing last season.
The Cards ranked 31st in the NFL in rushing yards per game last season with just 81 yards and while they have a strong starter in Andre Ellington, they need more depth. Ellington also dealt with injuries this season and that made it even harder for the offense to move the ball consistently. The defense was strong against the run, but the secondary was ranked 29th in the league in passing yards allowed per game.