Larry Fitzgerald was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio on Saturday, Aug. 8. The Arizona Cardinals announced on Monday, Aug. 10, that the former star wide receiver will be honored at halftime of the team's home game against the Denver Broncos
on Sunday, Oct. 25, when he is inducted into the team's Ring of Honor and his jersey No. 11 is retired at State Farm Stadium in Glendale.“No one who has ever worn a Cardinals uniform is more deserving of this honor,” Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill said in a statement. "His excellence on the field was only surpassed by the way he represented our team and our community off of it. We are all grateful for the opportunity to recognize Larry in this way and for our fans to celebrate
all he has meant to our franchise and the state of Arizona.”
Fitzgerald will become the sixth player in franchise history to have his number retired, joining safety Larry Wilson (8), safety Pat Tillman (40), tackle Stan Mauldin (77), tight end J.V. Cain (88) and halfback/defensive back Marshall Goldberg (99), and will be the 20th member of the Cardinals Ring of Honor.
Selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026, Fitzgerald became just the eighth wide receiver ever selected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. He joined Raymond Berry, Lance Alworth, Paul Warfield, Steve Largent, Jerry Rice, Randy Moss and Calvin Johnson for that honor.
Taken by Arizona with the third overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft, Fitzgerald spent all 17 NFL seasons (2004-20) with the Cardinals and finished his career as the franchise all-time leader in games played (263), receptions (1,432), receiving yards (17,492) and touchdowns (121). His 263 games played are the most in NFL history by a wide receiver with a single team.
Fitzgerald ranks second in NFL history behind only Hall of Famer Jerry Rice in career receptions and receiving yards and sixth in career TD receptions. Rice (13) is also the only wide receiver in league history selected to more Pro Bowls than Fitzgerald (11).
Other highlights of Fitzgerald’s accomplishments include:
*Being named to the NFL 100 All-Time Team and the All-Decade Team for 2010’s.
*Owning NFL records for the most seasons with 90-plus receptions (8), most seasons with 50-plus receptions (17), consecutive seasons with 50-plus receptions (17), consecutive seasons with 700-plus receiving yards (16), receptions with a single team (1,432), career games with 150-plus receiving yards in the postseason (3), receiving yards in a single postseason (546), receiving touchdowns in a single postseason (7), 100-yard receiving performances in a single postseason (4) and is the only player in NFL history to average 100-plus receiving yards and 1 or more touchdowns in every postseason game played (minimum five games).
*Twice leading the NFL in receptions (2005, 2016) and twice leading the league in TD receptions (2008, 2009). He also is the only player in NFL history to lead the league in receptions 11 or more years apart (second-longest streak is six years by Jerry Rice).
*Ending his career with at least one reception in 256 consecutive games, the second-longest streak in NFL history (Rice, 274).
*Leading the Cardinals in receiving yards 13 times. In NFL history, only Rice (15) led his team in receiving yards more times.
*Finishing his career with more tackles (41) than dropped passes (35). Had the fewest dropped passes by any player in NFL history with at least 1,500 career targets.
*Having more career receptions at State Farm Stadium (669) than any other player in NFL history at a single venue.
*Having the most prolific postseasons of any receiver in NFL history during the Cardinals run to Super Bowl XLIII following the 2008 season, finishing with the most receiving yards (546) and touchdown catches (7).
Reach McManaman at bob.mcmanaman@arizonarepublic .Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @azbobbymac and listen to him live every Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. on Roc and Manuch with Jimmy B on ESPN 620 (KTAR-AM) and every Thursday on the Doug Franz Unplugged podcast via Apple or Spotify.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Fitzgerald to enter Cardinals' Ring of Honor, No. 11 jersey retired
