Maybe Larry Fitzgerald Shouldn't Be Traded, but He's Useless on the Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals need to rebuild. Frankly, they’ve needed to rebuild since Kurt Warner retired.

New head coach Bruce Arians inherits a franchise in disarray. The Arizona Cardinals lost ten of their final eleven games to close out the 2012 NFL season and have a ton of work to do.

With two mediocre-at-best quarterbacks battling it out for the right to throw the football to the only skill position weapon the Cardinals have, the Arizona Cardinals offense again floundered last season. Larry Fitzgerald, one of the best receivers in the NFL, faces double coverage every snap. The running game doesn’t open up the passing attack, which is already sub-standard. Without other receiving threats, Fitzgerald can be minimized by opposing teams.

As it stands, Larry Fitzgerald, as great as he is, is relatively useless with the Arizona Cardinals.

Several reports have investigated the feasibility of trading Larry Fitzgerald, concluding that the dead weight that Fitzgerald’s pro-rated bonus would carry against the salary cap makes trading Fitzgerald an expensive endeavor. While this is a difficult notion to argue against, claims that no pieces they received in return could make a trade for Larry Fitzgerald worthwhile are misguided.

The Arizona Cardinals have a plethora of weaknesses. They need a new quarterback, or they need Kevin Kolb or John Skelton to emerge as capable. The Cardinals need to strengthen their receiving corps with diverse weapons, not just one stand out talent. The running game is a disaster, and the struggles of the offense have strained a relatively talented defense.

Larry Fitzgerald is one of the best receivers in football, and the best player on the Arizona Cardinals. He’s a strong presence in the community and a fantastic teammate. Fitzgerald is expensive, and would be hard to move in terms of practicality, and his departure would likely anger Cardinals fans.

Still, trading Larry Fitzgerald should not be out of the question. If they can get the right return of picks, young talent, and financial relief – why not at least consider it as a new coach attempts to rebuild a struggling franchise?