Cardinals & Larry Fitzgerald Reach Agreement, Free Up $13M In Cap Space

Update:

Pro Football Talk reports that the Cardinals new agreement with WR Larry Fitzgerald is “done.”

• According to PFT, the Cardinals will free up $13 million in available cap space from this move.
• Josh Alper of PFT adds that Fitzgerald’s new contract guarantees him $11 million per year over the next two seasons.

Cardinals GM Steve Keim said that Fitzgerald’s new contract is “essentially” a two-year deal.

Jason Fitzgerald mentions that it appears as though Fitzgerald’s cap figure for the 2015 season will be $10.6 million.

OverTheCap.com has the Cardinals projected to be in the red by over $10 million, so this move will at least get them cap complaint.

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ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Cardinals and WR Larry Fitzgerald are closing in a multi-year deal that will allow him to finish his career in Arizona.

• According to Schefter, the deal “will get done.”
• Ian Rapoport has confirmed the news.

Cardinals GM Steve Keim recently said that the two sides have been in constant communication about Fitzgerald’s contract situation and stressed that he wanted him to retire as a member of the Cardinals.

“The communication has been constant and hopefully we have a resolution that both parties are happy with,” Keim added. “I think the biggest thing is, in any negotiation, you’ve got to find a balance where both parties feel like we have a good situation. And again, we’re working tirelessly — that’s my number one objective right now, it’s our number one objective as an organization, and we’ve said it all along and it hasn’t changed.Larry Fitzgerald, we want him to retire a Cardinal.”

The Cardinals had to do something to Fitzgerald’s contract given that they are in a tough cap position and he represents the easiest source of cap relief on their team.

Fitzgerald, 31, is in the fourth year of his eight-year, $128.5 million contract that included $50 million guaranteed. After reworking his contract, Fitzgerald received an $11.75 million signing bonus and has a base salary of $1 million for the 2014 season.

Fitzgerald finished the regular season with 63 catches for 784 yards and two touchdowns over the course of 14 games. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 31 receiver out of 110 qualifying players.

We’ll have more regarding the Cardinals and Fitzgerald as the news is available.