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Odds Favor Larry Fitzgerald Retiring After 2019 Season

Angelo Montilla

by Angelo Montilla in NFL Football

Updated Apr 1, 2020 · 7:35 PM PDT

Larry Fitzgerald
Will Larry Fitzgerald play another season or retire? Sportsbooks odds favor Fitz calling it a career at the end of 2019 at -200. Photo by Keith Allison (Flickr)
  • Odds favor Fitzgerald at -200 to retire after this season
  • Sunday may have been receiver’s final home game with Cardinals after 16-year career
  • Sportsbooks are offering +300 odds Fitzgerald could play next year for another team

Larry Fitzgerald was recently asked about his future in the NFL — one that’s spanned 16 seasons with the Arizona Cardinals.

“I didn’t give it much thought,” he told CBS Sports. “The career will end. When it ends, it ends.”

The question is will it end after the 2019 season or does Fitz have another year of football left in the tank?

Odds released  favor the 36-year-old future Hall of Fame wide receiver retiring at the end of the season. Is there any value in betting on Fitzgerald playing another year with the Cardinals or another team?

Larry Fitzgerald Future Odds

Projection Odds
Retire -200
Play for Cardinals +150
Play for Another Team +300

Odds taken on Dec. 18

While retirement comes in as the -200 favorite on one sportsbook’s board, the sportsbook is also offering a +150 line that he comes back for another season in Arizona.

Fitzgerald broke into the league in 2004 and had 780 receiving yards and eight touchdowns in his rookie season. He’s been the model of consistency ever since, recording 1,000 or more receiving yards nine times in 16 seasons. He’s closing in on 120 career touchdowns with just two games remaining this season.

Age Starting to Show on the Field

While Fitzgerald has been able to remain healthy over the last five years, his age is starting to show. His targets are significantly down over the last two seasons and he only has three TD catches through 14 games this year — just one more than his career-worst from 2014.

Father Time started creeping up on Fitz last season as he finished with 69 receptions, which was 40 fewer than the year prior. It also marked the first time in three years Fitzgerald did not record 100 or more receptions in a single season.

There hadn’t been any recent chatter regarding Fitzgerald’s future up until his father — Larry Sr. — sent out a tweet hinting after Sunday’s game against the Steelers that it could be his son’s final home game as a Cardinal.

There’s always been speculation about Fitzgerald’s playing future, which is why the receiver has signed one-year extensions over the last three seasons. As a pending free agent, what are the chances he comes back to play next season, even if that means not for the Cardinals?

Will Fitz Find Another Team to Play for in 2020?

Fitzgerald’s father noted that Sunday could be his son’s final home game in Arizona playing for the Cardinals. It didn’t mention anything about not playing for another team.

At +300, the odds are intriguing for many reasons that Fitzgerald could very well come back on a one-year deal.

There are several teams that could use Fitzgerald as an insurance piece as a potential two or three wide receiver on a contending team.

For instance, the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens are both strong teams that could use help at the position. Both teams are averaging just over 215 receiving yards per game, which is bottom five in the league this season. The addition of an experienced Fitzgerald would improve those stats for either team.

Fitzgerald loves the game too much to retire at this point. He likely has one more year left, only it’s going to be with another NFL team.

Pick: Play for another team (+300)

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