Cardinals’ Larry Fitzgerald passes Tony Gonzalez, 2nd all-time in catches
Sep 29, 2019, 3:58 PM | Updated: Sep 30, 2019, 7:17 am
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Add another accolade to Larry Fitzgerald’s resume: The Arizona Cardinals’ veteran wide receiver has moved into second place all-time in NFL history in catches.
Coming into Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks, Fitzgerald needed five receptions to move into sole possession of second place all-time for career catches. During the fourth quarter of the eventual 27-10 loss, he caught his fourth pass of the game for 11 yards to tie Tony Gonzalez, who had 1,325 catches.
On the very next play, Fitzgerald caught a short pass for 15 yards from quarterback Kyler Murray to move up in the history books and pass Gonzalez.
The loss, not the historic day, occupied Fitzgerald’s mind after the game that dropped Arizona to 0-3-1 on the season.
“I don’t mean any disrespect to the guys on the all-time list,” the receiver said, “but it’s hard to take anything good from losing two in a row, three homes games out of four, and we don’t come out with a win. That’s pretty depressing, so there’s not much to really be happy about.”
Jerry Rice, who was in attendance on Sunday, holds the all-time catch record with 1,549 receptions.
What a moment. Larry Fitzgerald climbs to 🥈on the all-time career receptions list and then is immediately embraced by 🥇on the same list @JerryRice 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/3ZNFV5u28t
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) September 29, 2019
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So, too, was one of Fitzgerald’s most talented quarterbacks, Carson Palmer, who was inducted into Arizona’s Ring of Honor on Sunday.
Last November, Fitzgerald moved into second all-time in receiving yards, passing Terrell Owens during a loss to Kansas City. The all-time leader in that stat is also Rice, who had 22,895 yards. That’s a long ways away from Fitzgerald, who entered Sunday’s game with 16,532 for his career.
Also in Sunday’s game, Fitzgerald extended his streak to 231 straight games with at least one catch, which is the second-longest streak all-time.
Fitzgerald is in his 16th season with the Cardinals and ranks sixth in NFL history in touchdown catches. Sunday marked his 238th career game, and Fitzgerald has played all 16 games in 12 of his 15 completed seasons. He has led the NFL in catches twice (2005, 2016) and in touchdown catches twice (2008, 2009).
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