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Yeah, Larry Fitzgerald is not going to be traded

It's been dormant the last few years, the "the Cardinals should trade Larry Fitzgerald so he can win a Super Bowl" narrative. But now, with the Cardinals struggling and Carson Palmer out for if not the rest of the season at least most of it, it's back with a vengeance. Just googling "NFL trade deadline" this morning, up pops three articles at the top of the page with images, and two of the pictures are Fitz. It's not just fans who are asking/wondering/demanding, it's being suggested all over the place.

It doesn't make any sense to me, but OK. The trade deadline is Tuesday at 1 p.m. and I don't know if the Cards are going to make another deal, but I feel confident nothing would involve Fitz. The reasons?

  1. He's the face of the franchise. When things have gotten rough, you're not dealing the one player fans root for most of all.
  2. He's their best receiver.
  3. Whatever you might get in trade for a 34-year-old receiver who will be a free agent after the season, it's not worth nearly what Fitz brings to the team right now.
  4. If he was ever going to move to another team, it would've been a couple of years ago. I've said all along the die was cast for Fitz to be a life-long Cardinal then.
  5. Say what you will, but the Cardinals, at 3-4, remain alive to challenge for a postseason spot. It's tough to imagine that coming to fruition the way they've played and the injuries they've suffered, but that doesn't change the fact.
  6. Did I mention he was their best receiver? And (perhaps more importantly) the face of the franchise?

If Fitzgerald ever decided to make a power play and go to ownership and asked to be moved, perhaps then something might go down, but that didn't and wouldn't happen. Fitzgerald has had his chances to play out his contract and go elsewhere. Even when it runs out after this year, I don't expect Fitz to play on another team.

And as a final note, I'm not a believer in a team "owing" it to a player to let him go elsewhere so he can win a ring. I'm not saying it doesn't ever happen, but ultimately, the Cards have paid Fitz handsomely (it'll be more than $150 million by the end of the season since 2004) and again, he had chances to make sure he became a free agent. It's unfortunate the Cards haven't made a stronger push the last couple of seasons, but that's the reality.

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