The Larry Fitzgerald to Vikings Rumors are Irresistible

Larry Fitzgerald
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The Minnesota Vikings inked cornerback Patrick Peterson to a one-year deal during the first week of free agency, and that ushered in longstanding rumors regarding Larry Fitzgerald. Meaning – would Fitzgerald be interested in capping his career with the Vikings in tandem with Peterson’s accompaniment?

Peterson and Fitzgerald played together in Arizona for 10 full seasons.

The Peterson news was a bombshell in its own regard while the Fitzgerald add-on hypothesis remains a pipe dream. The 37-year-old Fitzgerald grew up in the Twin Cities and played high school football at the Academy of Holy Angels in Minneapolis. For about five years as his career has hit a “retirement” point, Vikings loyalists have thirsted for a Fitzgerald-to-Minnesota storybook ending to the sure-fire Hall of Famer’s career.

With the Peterson addition, two things are evident about this hypothetical relationship. First, this is the last hurrah with Fitzgerald rumors – to anywhere. He will be 38 when the 2021 NFL season kicks off, and his age already places him past the twilight of his career. Virtually all wideouts are long gone by now.

Next, because Peterson and Fitzgerald have been buddies for so long, this is also the realest opportunity for the Fitzgerald-Vikings marriage to reach the altar.

But what “good” would it really do for the Vikings?

A Handsy WR3

Minnesota has not employed a productive WR3 akin to other NFL teams since Jarius Wright left the franchise in 2018. And even he wasn’t overly dynamic. Wright was clutch as hell, but he was not an upper-echelon WR3 like some NFL teams utilize.

Fitzgerald – no matter his age – would institute his deific hands within the Vikings offense. He is not very fast anymore, nor does he stuff statsheets. But he is incredibly reliable, evidenced by classification in most Power Rankings as the best “hands” the NFL has ever witnessed.

The sizzle surrounding his name and reputation is an instant upgrade to anybody the Vikings have on the docket in 2021 for WR3. Sure, that doesn’t mandate Fitzgerald will nab 900 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, but the Vikings would be elated with something like 600 yards and four touchdowns. That’s how arid the WR3 position has devolved in the last half-decade.

The “Feels”

From an excitement and marketing standpoint, Fitzgerald to Minnesota is pure gold. The people that clamored for this union ad nauseam during the last five years will feel vindicated. The memories of Fitzgerald retiring with the Vikings would be folklorish.

And it would provide an aura for the upcoming season. You know – like a fairytale type of mentality heading into 2021. That certainly does not assure Minnesota will win a Super Bowl, yet the mindset entering this September could perhaps be recalled as “the year we got Fitz” or “the season that Patrick and Larry turned purple.”

The team will sell oodles of jerseys and memorabilia – all things Fitzgerald. Should the experiment end with a thud – would anybody tarnish his/her purple and gold Fitzgerald jersey? Absolutely not. These clothing items would be instant Hall of Fame artifacts, invoking retrospections of the season that Fitzgerald finally joined the Vikings. From ballboy to career-capper — would be the narrative.

Probably One Big Moment, at Least

Because Fitzgerald is so consistent and battle-tested, he’d likely be responsible for one everlasting moment. The Vikings have not won a Lombardi trophy, but the franchise does have moments like Randy Moss fake-mooning Wisconsinites or Greg Lewis hauling in a Brett Favre laser in the back of the endzone versus the San Francisco 49ers some 12 years ago.

Sign Fitzgerald up for at least one of those moments.

When Kyle Rudolph’s career in Minnesota was concluding, he was not showcased in the offense too often. However, even he found ways to put thumbprints on games – especially in clutch situations. One-handed grabs were the hallmark of his latter Vikings days. What do Fitzgerald and Rudolph have in common? Elite hands.

Whether it be an “ordinary” regular-season game or a playoff game, Fitzgerald has the gumption, experience, and wherewithal to author a memory like this.

Fitzgerald has earned loads of cash throughout his career, so it is unlikely that talks of him joining Mike Zimmer and the Vikings hinge on money. Does he want to depart Arizona – a team whose 2021 prognosis is heavenly on paper – just for North Star State warm-fuzzies?

That is up to Fitzgerald to decide. But this transaction would be welcomed by Minnesotans with universally open arms.

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