Larry Fitzgerald's not retired and he hasn't talked to Kyler Murray lately, but he's hoping for the best for Murray and the Arizona Cardinals in light of the quarterback's recent social media scrub.
Like many, Fitzgerald doesn't know what's going as it pertains to Murray's recent cleanse of anything Cardinals from his social media accounts.
"I haven't talked to Kyler in a while, but he looked good in the Pro Bowl," Fitzgerald said Tuesday from the R.S. Hoyt Jr. Family Foundation Dream Day at the WM Phoenix Open, . "He looked like he was having a great time throwing touchdowns out there, and I just hope everything works out the way both sides want it to work out. That's really what it's all about for me. I love Kyler, I love the Cardinals, and I want the best for everybody."
In Sunday's Pro Bowl at Las Vegas' Allegiant Stadium, Murray threw for 160 yards, three touchdowns and an interception in the NFC's loss. Thereafter, Murray drew notice by cleansing of everything but pictures of him from the Pro Bowl and one of him from his college days at Oklahoma.
At this point, "we just don't entirely know what it means," NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday.
"He's kind of distanced himself from everything, there's basically just two pictures on his Instagram," Rapoport said. "The season didn't end like he wanted, we know he's up for a contract extension in the offseason. Everyone's frustrated in Arizona about how it all transpired, a season that had so much promise. As far as a firm word on why he deleted everything, I reached out to his agent Erik Burkhardt, who did not comment."
Murray and the Cardinals' season began with a 7-0 start as the NFL's last remaining undefeated squad. However, it fell to ruins down the stretch, as Arizona lost four of its final five regular-season games prior to a blowout defeat against the Los Angeles Rams in the wild-card round of the playoffs. Hampered by an ankle injury that forced him to miss three games, Murray also had his struggles toward the end of the season, culminating with a dismal performance in the loss to the Rams in which he had no touchdowns, two interceptions and a 40.9 QB rating.
Following is third year in the league, Murray has one season remaining on his rookie contract, though it's expected the Cardinals would pick up his fifth-year option.
Murray hasn't thrown a pass to Fitzgerald since 2020, as the 11-time Pro Bowler did not play in the 2021 season, though he's never officially announced his retirement.
"I'm 38 years old, I'm a long way from retirement, long way," Fitzgerald said Tuesday.
Nonetheless, Fitzgerald's comments didn't hint at any kind of comeback to the NFL playing field. Just the opposite, Fitzgerald has settled into things thanks in large part to his preparation for what was next.
"Initially it was a bit of an adjustment, but you get into a routine that you're comfortable with and you do it," he said. "It's not like it happened abruptly. Unfortunately, most athletes, they're told, your career's over. You don't have much time to prepare, you don't have anything set up outside of the game to really help bridge that gap, and that's where you see guys struggle. I played 17 years, I made a million connections, I was able to do everything that I ever wanted to do in terms of preparing to make a smooth transition whenever that time was. It was something I prepared for, and I was very fortunate for that."
Admittedly, the all-time great wide receiver, who had one of the most exceptional postseasons ever during the Cardinals' run to Super Bowl XLIII, does miss the game, but his comments lean to him having largely moved on.
"There's days that you watch the game and you see D-Hop (DeAndre Hopkins) make a great catch or you see (Zack) Ertz do something special or you see D.J. (Humphries) pancake a guy or Chandler (Jones) get a sack or Budda (Baker) get a pick and you get real excited and you wish you would be there and participating with it," Fitzgerald said. "But I had a great run, it was fun. I wouldn't change anything. I wish I could have delivered more for the Valley in terms of winning a championship but that's water under the bridge at this point."
At this point, though, we're still left to wonder why Larry hasn't officially hung up his cleats and what's eating Kyler?
