The Kansas City Chiefs were apparently on Larry Fitzgerald's radar, or at least that's what the future Hall of Fame wide receiver revealed during his recent appearance on The Dan Patrick Show on Tuesday. Fitzgerald said that he'd chatted with the Chiefs but ultimately decided not to ring chase but retire instead.
"This was the year after the last year I played," said Fitzgerald. "I talked to the Chiefs. I knew it was time [to retire], I had a great run. It was time to move on to new endeavors."
Dan asked him why he wasn't interested in ring chasing and Fitzgerald said there was no guarantee he'd do so. He said there's no guarantees in life and reiterated that he knew it was time to hang up the cleats.
Fitzgerald, the third overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft, spent all 17 years of his prestigious career with the Arizona Cardinals, reaching two Super Bowls and tallying over 17,400 receiving yards. He retired following the 2020 season meaning that his conversation with the Chiefs likely happened in the 2021 offseason.
The Chiefs still had Tyreek Hill at that time but behind him didn't leave much to be desired at the position. Demarcus Robinson, Byron Pringle, Mecole Hardman, and Josh Gordon were some of the biggest names behind Hill on the depth chart at that time, so it's not crazy to think that Fitzgerald would have been a massive upgrade for the wide receiver position.
Larry Fitzgerald considered signing with the Chiefs before retiring
It's worth noting that Fitzgerald's final few years in the league weren't great stats-wise. He missed a handful of games in 2020, his final season in the NFL, and only had 409 yards and 1 touchdown that season. That being said, Demarcus Robinson had 264 yards and 3 scores that year so Fitzgerald would have been a better receiving option than him.
What would have been painful for Fitzgerald—assuming things played out the same—is that the 2021 season is only one of two seasons where K.C. didn't reach the Super Bowl. The Chiefs fell to the Bengals in the AFC Championship Game during the playoffs and that's the last time they've missed the Super Bowl. Had Fitzgerald signed with Kansas City to win a title and then failed to get to the big game, that'd have been gut-wrenching for the future Hall of Famer.
Fitzgerald ultimately chose to call it a career and not sign with another team. He reached two Super Bowls during his 17-year career with Arizona and managed to put up gaudy numbers despite playing with some bad quarterbacks during his time in the desert. It'd have been cool to see him play for Andy Reid and the Chiefs, but he probably wouldn't have been a strong enough addition to change how the 2021 season ended.
