The Arizona Cardinals may look at a Larry Fitzgerald trade this offseason and teams like the Oakland Raiders, Seattle Seahawks, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots or Minnesota Vikings could be interested in a deal, as Fitzgerald is set to make a ton of money and the Cards may want some cap flexibility with a number of important players hitting free agency next year.
Fitzgerald has been mentioned in trade rumors over the past two seasons at the deadline and while no deal has gone down for the Cardinals, it's a move they could consider in the offseason. The team loves Fitzgerald and his talent as one of the best receivers in the league, but the Cardinals also realize that he is making a ton of money and his cap hit goes up next season. According to ESPN.com reporter Jon Weinfuss, the team has at least 10 free agents coming off the books next year and they will need to sign some of those players back.
Weinfuss also writes that the emergence of John Brown and Michael Floyd makes it likely that something will happen with Fitzgerald in the near future. The team loves Brown after drafting him this year and while Bruce Arians likes what Fitzgerald brings to the table, the Cardinals may have to make a very tough choice regarding his future. Fitzgerald is in on a seven year deal that he signed back in 2011 and he has four more years left on the extension and the money is quite a bit for an aging player.
Fitzgerald keeps himself in great shape and even with that, he is getting into his 30s and that is a ton of money to pay a wide receiver. Fitzgerald is set to make $8 million in base salary next season and $15 million the year after that and his cap hit will be over $23 million for next year. The team likely will look for a trade, as the dead money on the contract over the next two seasons (this one and next one) is in the double digits and that is a lot to keep on. Fitzgerald could look at reworking his deal and that could be the first option the team and WR talk about before a trade comes down.
Some teams that could be interested in Fitzgerald include the Oakland Raiders, Seattle Seahawks, Miami Dolphins, Patriots and Minnesota Vikings, as those teams need some WR help and could make room on the cap. The Dolphins have not been happy with Mike Wallace and could try and move him to free up space, while the Seahawks just traded Percy Harvin and could also be interested. The Raiders are not filled with playmakers and they have cap space and were mentioned last season as a potential destination if Fitzgerald was traded.
This season Fitzgerald has 30 catches for 443 yards and he is in line to get past where his numbers were last season and the year before, which were both below his usual averages. Fitzgerald was as consistent as anyone in his career, going for at least 90 catches in four of five seasons between 2007 and 2011 and also having five straight years of at least 1000 yards. As he continues to age, the Cardinals will have a tough decision to make and another team could step up and make a deal for Fitzgerald this offseason.
