Carson Palmer has attempted to convince Larry Fitzgerald to play for at least one more year, Dan Bickley of the Arizona Daily Republic reports. The 37-year-old quarterback’s having “frequent” conversations with the 33-year-old Cardinals wide receiver regarding his future in the NFL.
This runs counter to what came out of Arizona last week, when neither Palmer nor Arians admitted to making efforts to convince Fitz to return. Fitzgerald said he’s “uncertain” about his future as recently as last week, but he’s put up numbers that indicate he should have some time left as a productive pass-catcher. He’s notched the fourth 100-plus-reception season of his 13-year career and is 20 yards away from his eighth 1,000-yard campaign.
Fitzgerald is under contract through 2017 after signing a preseason extension, one that secured him an $11MM salary for next season. The Cardinals have needed Fitzgerald’s best this season after the other two members in a once-formidable receiving top trio have largely disappointed. Michael Floyd is no longer with the team, and John Brown has often been unavailable due to injuries related to a sickle-cell condition.
Here’s more from the NFC West.
- A potential Arians retirement has become part of the Cardinals’ news cycle as the team drifted out of contention. But the 64-year-old coach who suffered a health scare earlier this season is not operating like he’s retiring. The fourth-year Arizona leader has begun making offseason plans for the franchise, with Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reporting Arians is preparing for free agency meetings, the draft and OTAs. A source close to this situation told Florio that everything Arians is saying publicly and privately go against a notion he’s going to step down. Arians himself said last week he’ll be back, and the coach has not been known for mind games since taking the reins in the desert.
- The 49ers appear to be pulling the plug on the Trent Baalke era after six years, and Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee wonders if the team will go after what’s become a successful GM tree started by Ron Wolf. The former Packers executive helped the likes of John Schneider, John Dorsey, Reggie McKenzie and Ted Thompson to their current GM roles. Barrows points to branches beneath these decision-makers as options for the struggling franchise. Barrows names Chiefs director of player personnel Chris Ballard, 31-year-old Eagles scouting director Troy Brown and Seahawks scouting staffer Trent Kirschner as options, along with longtime Patriots player personnel director Nick Caserio.
- Gregg Williams would be open to staying on as Rams DC but doesn’t sound like he thinks that’s going to be in the cards. The 58-year-old defensive boss thanked reporters after Rams practice Friday, per Jack Wang of the Los Angeles Daily News, understanding the new coach will likely want to select his own DC. “I don’t have hobbies. I’m happiest at practice; I’m happiest in games,” Williams said. “The coaches and players get fed up with me in the meetings, so we like to get out here. But, yeah, sure. I’m going to coach for as long as I can.” Los Angeles’ defense ranks 10th in the league in Williams’ fourth year in this position.