If you are really a true fan of Larry Fitzgerald, then you better hope and pray the Cardinals’ legendary wide receiver walks away from the game after this season.

Maybe we should explain.

Fitzgerald, you see, has only one thing left to accomplish in football. Entering his 17th NFL season, the only goal that matters is to finally win a Super Bowl title. At age 37, he’s running out of time to make that a reality.

But if he happens to win a championship this season with the Cardinals, he said, it not only will put the final stamp of approval on his impressive list of accomplishments, it will be what sends him off into the sunset to retire.

“Absolutely. That would definitely validate me, for sure,” Fitzgerald said, adding, “You wouldn’t see me around here anymore if that happened.”

In all his years with the Cardinals, who open the 2020 season on Sunday at the 49ers — Air Quality Index rating in Santa Clara, Calif., permitting — Fitzgerald has never spoken so definitively about his future. And yet while the Cardinals are huge longshots to make it to Super Bowl LV, Fitzgerald also sees something very special about this year’s team.

It’s not only a group with talented playmakers on offense like quarterback Kyler Murray, fellow receivers DeAndre Hopkins and Christian Kirk and running back Kenyan Drake, Fitzgerald said. It’s an improved defense rebuilt around a core unit of returning stars like Chandler Jones, Patrick Peterson and Budda Baker.

It isn’t just a trusted coaching staff led by head coach Kliff Kingsbury, either, according to Fitzgerald. It’s the new chemistry, camaraderie and passion emanating throughout the entire organization. It starts at the top with Owner Michael Bidwill, he said, and it wouldn’t have happened if General Manager Steve Keim hadn’t seemingly made all the right moves.

“You’ve got to really tip your hat to Steve Keim,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s difficult to go out and get not only the best players you can possibly get, but also have the right fit of men and Steve has really done a great job of putting this team together. He’s got great players, he’s got wonderful leadership and guys who generally don’t mind working hard and don’t have any issues in the locker room.

“I really enjoy the men that I work with. … No egos, no divas, guys that just want to want and put forth the effort to get better.”

That’s what Fitzgerald has done in 250 career regular-season games for the Cardinals – the most in NFL history with a single team for a wide receiver. His work ethic and desire to always give it his all, whether it’s in practice or in games, has been just as much a trademark of his legacy as where he ranks among the league’s all-time greatest receivers.

For the record, he is second behind only Jerry Rice in both career receptions (1,378 to Rice’s 1,549) and career receiving yards (17,083 to Rice’s 22,895) and he ranks sixth overall in career touchdown catches (120). And yet every day, he’s out on the practice field diving for balls and stretching out to make amazing one-handed grabs.

“He’s out there practicing like he’s trying to make the team,” Kingsbury said recently. “He won’t take plays of when you’re like, ‘Hey Larry, sit this one out.’ He tries to stay in. He won’t take days off when you’re trying to give him a vet day. He’s everything you want to build your organization around and the type of culture you want.

“To have a guy at his age performing at that level and still doing it like that, it’s huge. I hope he plays five more years.”

He probably could, if he wanted to. Fitzgerald, though, has other aspirations and business endeavors he’s long been waiting to pursue. He’s already purchased a minority ownership stake in the Phoenix Suns and there’s much more he wants to do in the future.

For now, his entire focus is on football and trying to help the Cardinals get back to the Super Bowl, which they’ve only been to once, in 2009, when they lost a thriller to the Steelers. The game was played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, which also happens to be the site of Super Bowl LV this season.

If any one can help will the Cardinals there, it’s Fitzgerald. Teammates old and new can’t talk enough about his importance to the franchise, the league and the community and what an inspiration he is to everyone.

“I’ve only been around him for a couple of months, but he’s probably one of the best teammates I’ve been around to date,” Cardinals right take Kelvin Beachum said.

“It’s pretty eye-opening and humbling to be around him every single day,” added linebacker Jordan Hicks, now in his second year with the team.

Former quarterback Kurt Warner, now an analyst for the NFL Network, knows Fitzgerald as well as anyone. One of the many traits that has always impressed him about Fitzgerald has been the receiver’s ability to “evolve his game” and his role as a leader.

“When I was there, he got the crowd into it with the special plays,” said Warner, who played for the Cardinals from 2005-09. “Now he gets the crowd into it by willing the ball into himself and he can get crowd into it on an 8-yard play because he brings such an energy to that building and to that locker room because of who he is, and his character and his consistency as a player.

“I don’t know what the numbers will look like for Larry this year, but he will have a tremendous impact and will make some Larry Fitzgerald signature plays this year at age 37. Without a doubt in my mind, he will step up and show up as the Larry Fitzgerald we’ve always known.”

Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin, Warner’s colleague with NFL Network, suggests that Fitzgerald’s greatest contributions in 2020 might be the knowledge and preparation skills he can drop on Hopkins.

“That young dude around Larry Fitzgerald, that’s a blessing from God for his career,” Irvin said. “Whether he knows it or not right now, it’s absolutely a blessing from God. … Larry has value way beyond those great plays Kurt was talking about he will make during this football season.”

Fitzgerald said he doesn’t really need to be a mentor to Hopkins, noting that Hopkins’ numbers and place in history has already been proven “because he’s immensely talented and skilled at what he does.” As for Hopkins likely taking away many of his potential targets from Murray, that doesn’t matter to Fitzgerald, either.

“I’m not concerned about (being) the focal point or anything,” he said, nonchalantly. “If the ball comes my way, I’ll catch it. If I’ve got to block, I’ll block. I’ll do whatever is required. Another catch, another touchdown, another yard is not going to make me more of a whatever. My legacy is pretty much cemented. I just want to win a championship. I want to compete for a division title. Those are things that are important to me.”

Fitzgerald insists he won’t keep playing to try and catch any of Rice’s records. He has caught more passes with the same team than Rice, and with one reception on Sunday against the 49ers, he would have 93 career catches in season openers, the most in NFL history. He is currently tied with Rice for that distinction with 92.

“The only one I want is his three Super Bowl rings,” Fitzgerald said. “Those are the numbers I’m chasing at this point. Nobody is going to remember how many catches and yards and touchdowns I had. It’s an interesting footnote, but I’m not playing for any records or numbers.”

It’s the Super Bowl or bust. If it doesn’t happen this season, maybe the thought of another year or two playing alongside Hopkins and Murray will bring him back for more. But if Fitzgerald and the Cardinals are fortunate to win The Big One, you better believe him when he says he’s going to walk.

“I’m just telling you. I’ve got some other things up my sleeve, man,” Fitzgerald said, smiling. “I’ve got some big things on the agenda.”

Roster move

With wide receiver KeeSean Johnson being placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, the Cardinals on Saturday elevated running back D.J. Foster to the active roster from the practice squad.

Have an opinion on the Arizona Cardinals? Reach McManaman at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @azbobbymac. Listen to him live on Fox Sports 910-AM every Tuesday afternoon at 3:30 on Calling All Sports with Roc and Manuch and every Wednesday night from 7-9 on The Freaks with Kenny and Crash.

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