Fitzgerald: Every receiver would love to play with Peyton Manning

Last summer, as the Cardinals searched for a quarterback,
Larry Fitzgerald’s name came up often.

The team’s best player, it was thought (true or not) Fitz
had some say in who the team was targeting. At the very
least, the hope to sign the Pro Bowler to a contract
extension had to have played a role in the move to go out
and get a guy like Kevin Kolb, who was considered by many
to be the best QB on the market.

Things didn’t work out as planned in Kolb’s first season
with the Cardinals, and while Fitzgerald isn’t campaigning
for the team to get a new signal caller, he said he’d like
to play with one who could be on the market very soon.

“Everybody, you play receiver, would love to play with a
quarterback like Peyton Manning,” he told ESPN Radio’s
Mike and Mike. “I think Peyton Manning should be in
contention for winning the MVP this season. That’s how
valuable he is to this league and obviously how valuable
he is to the Indianapolis Colts.”

The Colts, once a perennial playoff team, slipped to 2-14
last season, with Manning not playing a single snap due to
a neck injury. Set to take Stanford QB Andrew Luck with
the number one overall pick in the NFL Draft, the Colts
could part with their MVP, giving the rest of the NFL a
chance to get one of the game’s best players.

And, since there have been plenty of reports
linking the Cards to Manning, it’s possible one of the
team’s current QBs could be a bit miffed at the idea of
possibly being replaced.

“Obviously Peyton is a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and a
lot of teams are going to be interested,” Fitzgerald said.
“They might not be unhappy with their quarterback play,
but you know Peyton is an upgrade to what you already
have.

“I think there’d probably be some feelings hurt.”

Maybe so, but that’s a risk the Cardinals would have to
take.

Follow @theAdamGreen