NFC West Notes: Fitzgerald, Stafford, Everett

If the Cardinals signed AJ Green all eyes turned to last month Larry Fitzgerald and his place on the team. Although the legendary recipient has not yet announced his intentions, he appears to be on his way to hang his cleats. “Execs expect” that Fitzgerald, who is unsigned for 2021, will retire, writes Mike Sando of The Athletic. This is not a complete report, but it definitely sounds like this is how things are going.

With green now in the fold next to the return DeAndre Hopkins and Christian Kirk, the Cardinals The reception room would be pretty full if Fitz tried again. The surefire future Hall of Famer played 13 games for Arizona last year, scooping 54 catches for 409 yards and a touchdown. It was easily the lowest performance in his 17 year career. We should know more soon, but unfortunately it seems likely we’ve seen the Pittsburgh product downplay its finale.

Here’s more from NFC West on a quiet Sunday afternoon:

• Matthew Stafford became very battered during his senior Lions season, and he was in process to address one of these persistent injuries. The new Aries Quarterback had surgery on the thumb of his throwing hand last month, a source told The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue. Fortunately, Rodrigue reports that it was just a simple cleanup and that Stafford won’t miss any real practice time. Stafford said back in February that he partially tore the UCL in his right thumb. Despite dealing with a number of significant health issues, he never missed a start last season.
• The Seahawks signed tight end away Gerald Everett Freehand from the Rams, and previous poaching turned out to be a big part of it. Seattle hired the former Rams game coordinator Shane Waldron to be her new OK after shooting Brian Schottenheimer, and Waldron played a role in delivering Everett. “Shane is a mastermind,” said Everett of John Boyle from the team’s official website. “He’s very creative and I can’t wait to see what he’s doing in Seattle … When Shane went to Seattle, the idea was obviously there, it stuck in my head.” Everett was a 2017 Los Angeles second round election, and while he never came up with big numbers on Rams’ mouth-feeding crimes, he showed a lot of potential. “Yes, he was a factor in my decision to come to Seattle,” Everett said of Waldron. The Seahawks gave him a $ 7 million one-year contract in March.
• In case you missed it, the 49ers will ask for a selection for the first round in exchange for Jimmy Garoppolo.