For 17 years, Larry Fitzgerald has called Arizona home. Could Sunday's matchup with the Cleveland Browns mark the final home game in the Hall of Fame career for the Cardinals receiver?
"You never know," Fitzgerald replied Thursday, via the team's official website. "You never know. I don't give it much thought. I told you before, I stay in the moment, man. The career will end. When it ends, it ends."
If it ends, it should only be a five-year wait before Fitzgerald slips on a gold jacket.
The 11-time Pro Bowler understands there will be questions about his future until he hangs up the well-worn gloves for good.
"I guess it's inevitable when you're as old as I am," Fitzgerald said.
The Cardinals' final home game of the 2019 season could give fans a final chance to say goodbye to the living legend if it is indeed the end. But the team will hold out hope Fitzgerald might try to make it 18 seasons, with Kliff Kingsbury saying he intends to attempt to persuade the wideout to return after the season.
So long as Fitzgerald, who has played on a series of one-year deals, doesn't say he's made a decision one way or the other, questions will persist.
For the 36-year-old, he said he's going to take time to weigh his off-field work with his on-field dedication.
"I'm weighing what I'm doing on the field and what's required to be great for what you do on the field," Fitzgerald said. "(That work) kind of hurts you from going to do what you need to do to prepare yourself (for after football), so there is a delicate balance."
It's a balance Fitzgerald has mastered over the years. The question come January is whether he wants to continue the NFL grind on a rising team, or finally set sail for the next chapter of his life.
