Fitzgerald risking the cardinals near future with a smile on his face

[Timm Rosenbach]

you have to wonder what kind of a guy hamstrings his team's future while not considering the future of his friends who may be cut because of his refusal to accept a deal that merely makes him the highest paid wideout in tv history of football. The guy obviously does not care about the fans or the franchise. But his disrespect for his teammates (who gets cut to absorb his scheduled salary?) shocks me. This mans character has been exposed. Trade him for anyone who can work with him to get us a first round pick. Then let us actually have some hope for free agency. Teams aren't built around receivers. And we already have a great and loyal one in Q. Let's work something out and MVD this first class primadonna so we can get on to free agency

 

[Brian in Mesa]

This man's character has been exposed.

Probably comes from being raised around the likes of Denny Green.

 

[abomb]

Screw that. Fitz should demand what the market will bear. Any of you who say you wouldnt do the same, be sure to march into your bosses office tomorrow and demand a pay cut.

 

[Brian]

Amen.

Completely agree.

 

[ajcardfan]

Do you have photos as proof? Because right now, I picture him with a bemused smirk on his face, in between plunges into a pile of cocaine bigger than a basketball, as he says "Stupid Cardinals, they are my bitch!". Not a smile.

 

[Brian]

Screw that. Fitz should demand what the market will bear. Any of you who say you wouldnt do the same, be sure to march into your bosses office tomorrow and demand a pay cut.

That's a weak arguement Adam. Most of us aren't employed by businesses that are competing with 31 other businesses for one prize with a limited number of employees available.

Graves started this mess, and is now begging Fitz. Larry is already rich beyond his wildest and will continue to be.

Essentially the Cards are asking him to take one for the team when he doesn't need to (and truthfully shouldn't have to be asked to).

Either way, the bottom line is this: Graves is inept and Fitz is greedy. No other way to cut it. It's a messy situation.

 

[joeshmo]

you have to wonder what kind of a guy hamstrings his team's future while not considering the future of his friends who may be cut because of his refusal to accept a deal that merely makes him the highest paid wideout in tv history of football. The guy obviously does not care about the fans or the franchise. But his disrespect for his teammates (who gets cut to absorb his schedule) shocks me. This mans character has been exposed. Trade him for anyone who can work with him to get us a first round pick. Then let us actually have some hope for free agency. Teams aren't built around receivers. And we already have a great and loyal one in Q. Let's work something out and MVD this first class primadonna so we can get on to free agency

If you believe the line that he would be the highest paid WR ever then you believe that we offered him a 8 year 100 Mill deal, which is what moss got back in 2001. If you believe we offered that deal well then I dont know what to say. As for the great and loyal Q, how loyal was he when he was going to hold out of training camp until a last minute deal was negotiated, and what about the talk that he wants to re-do his deal again with 3 years left on it just like Wilson and Dockett are rumored to want. Boldin doesnt have Drew Rosenhous as his agent for nothing. Drew is his agent becuase he gets his players paid, not becuase he gets his players deals that help the team. No player does that unless they are old and looking for one last shot. These players want money and their agents will get them their money and let their agents do their jobs.

His character has been exposed. Training at the facility every day running routes with Matt every weekday every day since he got back from the pro bowl. What a primadonna.

Man people are going way overboard. Now Fitz is a primadonna, just another case of people jumping off of the deep end.

 

[Timm Rosenbach]

yeah I do have photos. Look at the smirk on his face when being interviewed on cardinals live after every good performance with expensive glasses and carefully coiffed hair. Somebody is going to get cut because of this arrogance and the franchise doesnt know how to approach free agency to prep to put a winning team on the field next year. Fitzie's true colors are ugly

 

[NeverSayDieFan]

I Agree....

The Fitz' situation is NOT about the Cardinals being cheap. Having been a long time fan (40+ years) it's been refreshing to see the Cards step-up in the past few years. (ie; retaining their solid "core" players. ...And even a good coach this year (ie; Haley). These days they seem more than willing to treat their players fairly. If you're an All-Pro you get paid as an All-Pro. ...And continuity is so important to winning.

But getting back to the current state of things in the NFL. Truth is, it saddens me to see what it's become. I miss the days of Jim Hart, Jackie Smith, Terry Metcalf, Roger Wehrli, & Jim Bakken. I never worried about these guys "jumping ship". But "free agency" changed everything. What I see now is the NFL's version of "legalized prostituition". In short, "PAY me and I'll perform for you." I love the game of football, but for me, the "innocence" is gone.

 

[slanidrac16]

The difference here is that Fitz has earned this current situation. He is willing to renegotiate a new deal even though he doesn't have to.

The Cards ARE paying him good money. In years past this organization would have released him, THEN tried to re-sign him.

It's a give and take situation .What the Cards have to realize is that they are going to have to give more but it will be stretched over a longer period of time. Good for Fitz. Good for Cards. Good for team.

Negotiations don't make Fitz a bad guy or the Cards a disfunctional team. I'ts going to just come down to a meeting of the minds. I think it will get done. It just won't get done as quickly or timely as we fans would like.

 

[LoyaltyisaCurse]

Either way, the bottom line is this: Graves is inept and Fitz is greedy. No other way to cut it. It's a messy situation.

This is spot on... I do sympathize with Fitz because he met the number put forth and by contract is entitled to the bonus. FAULT: Graves...

But I am also not a fan of Fitz's seeming unwillingness to renegotiate and spread the bonus out while accepting to be paid less than only 4 or 5 players in the NFL. Either way, he will be rich beyond belief, but wouldnt you rather be Filthy rich and a champion? FAULT: Fitzgerald

Solution if contract not re-done: Trade Fitz, fire Graves...

 

[Brian]

If you believe the line that he would be the highest paid WR ever then you believe that we offered him a 8 year 100 Mill deal, which is what moss got back in 2001. If you believe we offered that deal well then I dont know what to say. As for the great and loyal Q, how loyal was he when he was going to hold out of training camp until a last minute deal was negotiated, and what about the talk that he wants to re-do his deal again with 3 years left on it just like Wilson and Dockett are rumored to want. Boldin doesnt have Drew Rosenhous as his agent for nothing. Drew is his agent becuase he gets his players paid, not becuase he gets his players deals that help the team. No player does that unless they are old and looking for one last shot. These players want money and their agents will get them their money and let their agents do their jobs.

His character has been exposed. Training at the facility every day running routes with Matt every weekday every day since he got back from the pro bowl. What a primadonna.

Man people are going way overboard. Now Fitz is a primadonna, just another case of people jumping off of the deep end.

Joe, you are one of my favorite posters, but I completely disagree. Fitz is a primadonna.

There is the team concept and the ME concept. I don't care how many routes he has run since the Pro Bowl. If he is hamstringing the team he should be held accountable as doing so.

Now, as I said before this should have never happened or ever gotten this far. Graves is inept. Period. Therein is where the fault lies.

 

[nurnay]

Maybe if the Cards threw in some free crackers a deal could get done?

http://kissmesuzy.blogspot.com/2007/05/free-crackers-for-fitty-act-i.html

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Screw that. Fitz should demand what the market will bear. Any of you who say you wouldnt do the same, be sure to march into your bosses office tomorrow and demand a pay cut.

If my bosses came to me and wanted to rework an already huge contract so that I got paid a ton of money, much of it guaranteed, over a longer period of time and by doing so I helped the entire company retain other top employees - I'd sign the deal.

 

[Darth Llama]

Screw that. Fitz should demand what the market will bear. Any of you who say you wouldnt do the same, be sure to march into your bosses office tomorrow and demand a pay cut.

Who's asking Fitz to take a pay cut? They're offering him a raise, it's just not enough for greedy ass Fitz.

If my boss came up to me tomorrow and told me he wanted me to sign a deal that would make me the highest paid employee in my field because it would help our company hire some new people to increase our productivity, you're damn right I would sign it. It's a win/win. I wouldn't look at the deal and say "you need me, pay me more."

Fitz is an cornholio. I hope they ship his greedy ass outta here.

 

[Brian]

Jesus. I'm in agreement with Laker fans.

OW!

Tomorrow you will find me hanging in the bathroom shower....

 

[Darth Llama]

Jesus. I'm in agreement with Laker fans.

OW!

Tomorrow you will find me hanging in the bathroom shower....

If it helps, just think of me as a Cardinal fan. The Basketball avatar is up right now cause football season is over. I wouldn't want anyone to hang themselves over it.

[Edit] Put the cardinal back, I take enough crap as it is.

 

[DevonCardsFan]

Fits is about to put the F in Fitz!!!! As in F Fitz, I would rather have Boldin over Fitz any day, get rid of him, if it is like that!!

 

[green machine]

Wow, I can't believe people want the team to cut Fitz so they can keep guys like Pace.

It sucks that this is happening, but you can't fault Fitz. Hell, guys like A-Dub and Boldin are going to be asking to renegotiate, and that will hurt the team because those guys won't want to honor the contracts they originally signed. Are people going to want them shipped out as well?

One may say that they only want to be paid fair market value, and that's understandable, but Fitz's market value is what he's going to get paid next season, extension or not.

 

[Crazy Canuck]

Another typical free agency thread on this board: "Graves is inept, incompetent, stupid, etc." and "Fitz (or fill in the name) is arrogrant and greedy".

 

[Duckjake]

but I completely disagree. Fitz is a primadonna.

Look at the smirk on his face when being interviewed on cardinals live after every good performance with expensive glasses and carefully coiffed hair. Somebody is going to get cut because of this arrogance

Have either of you ever met Fitzgerald? I'm not talking about a brief encounter while he's walking off the field at camp or signing an autograph after a game but in a situation where you are at the same function he's attending for several hours outside of football.

I have, and based on those meetings I have to say you couldn't be more off base with those assertions. Fitz always conducts himself with class at these events and has never displayed any hint of arrogance. He is about the best pro athlete I've ever seen at being a goodwill ambassador for his team.

It's even more impressive when you consider Fitzgerald is only 24 years old.

 

[ajcardfan]

It sucks that this is happening, but you can't fault Fitz. Hell, guys like A-Dub and Boldin are going to be asking to renegotiate, and that will hurt the team because those guys won't want to honor the contracts they originally signed. Are people going to want them shipped out as well?

Yes, the same thing will happen. People were skewering Boldin when he didn't go to the minicamp a couple of years ago and saying his greedy butt should traded.

 

[jstadvl]

It's not Pace OVER Fitz. It's making them work out so our core O and D STAY together. Imagine, another year in this sytem with just a couple of tweaks? (UPGRADES).
For as long as Fitz refuses, in principle, to ANY deal, we're screwed.
Can't touch BJ, Pace, Urban(sp), and others.
That is the part that sucks. The gun is at our heads,AGAIN!

 

[joeshmo]

Yes, the same thing will happen. People were skewering Boldin when he didn't go to the minicamp a couple of years ago and saying his greedy butt should traded.

Just wait until Boldin and his Agent Drew walk through the door asking for yet another renegotiation. His 2nd one in like 7 years. That one is going to be even more brutal then the pretty easy going agent Parker.

There is a reason players dont represent themselves even though they could. There is a reason they hire agents. Becuase they are cut throats who play hard ball to get every last penny for their player. Boldin did hire Drew as his agent becuase he likes Drew's commision rate.

People thinking these players should take less money then they could get is pretty niave IMO. That went away when the free agency period started.

Fitz contract is not hurting anything right now. From Sommers article this morning - "What the Cardinals don't have is the cap space to be major players in free agency. They are believed to be between $5 million and $8 million under the cap. Even if they had space, they likely would sit out free agency's grand opening."

Fitz contract did not make us cut Cooper, Holt, or Ross. They were on the chopping block on this very board before anyone even knew of Fitz contract situation. No more cuts are likely as of right now.

Fitz contract did not keep us from re-signing Pace. Pace agent has already stated that they decided on testing free agency a few months back when they started to here how much attention he would get. Pace was going to test free agency no matter what. Once that happens he will be out of the Cards price range no matter what.

So Fitz, didnt cause the cuts, didnt cause the loss of Pace, hasnt caused us to not follow through with our free agency plans as of yet. What is everyone yelling about about. Loud noises. There are way to many high horses in this place, myself included most the time.

 

[Jetstream Green]

My take is this

Fitz is hoping, actually probably praying that the Cardinals do not give into a huge sum of money his agent is asking for because he does not want to be a Cardinal pure and simple. When Green left, Fitz wanted out. Personally, that to me does not sound like a professional but a child if my hunch on this situation is true. A professional would ask if he is being offered good money and he is, and a professional who is part of a team effort that wants to win would get this done soon for the benefit of the team. And if I was Fitz, I would have signed what the reports say the Cardinals are offering him with the new contract and smile all the way to the bank, knowing that I'm also helping my friends and teammates get closer to winning.

Graves looks stupid right now but not unfair.

Fitz looks greedy and unfair to his teammates and us fans if he thinks as himself as a Cardinal