Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald has the body of work and longevity that make him all but a lock to make it to Canton as one of the most reliable wide outs the game has ever seen.
The third pick of the 2004 NFL Draft after being the Heisman runner up out of Pittsburgh, Fitz is a rarity in that he has spent his entire professional career in Arizona, collecting 11 Pro Bowl nods and establishing himself as one of the league's most elite and dependable wide receivers. Combine that with his off the field work in the community and winning the Walter Payton Man of the Year award in 2016, and you start to get a full sense that Fitz's accomplishments go much further than football.
Even in his sunset years, his skillset as a wide receiver still forces NFL defensive coordinators to have to game plan specifically for him. As any coach who has watched him over the years will tell you, it's often the stuff he does away from the ball, and before and after the whistle, that really put him on another level.
That was on full display last night, with 34 receiving yards as the first half was winding down and approaching field goal range, a lot of receivers would have been focused on how they could go into the half and whine about getting more touches.
But not Fitz. After a completion inside the Niners 40 with about 10 seconds on the clock, Fitz grabbed the ball from the Cardinals receiver who was just downed, and gets the ball into the hands of his center, who is able to quickly get it to the official located on the hash so that they would have an opportunity to spike the ball and get off a field goal attempt.
It was an unselfish move by the veteran receiver that is a great reminder of focusing on the team and doing whatever it takes to put points on the board in pursuit of a win.