Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald was out for ‘rest’ leading into game week

Larry Fitzgerald turned 37 years old Sunday, but there are no concerns about the Arizona Cardinals receiver’s health after he missed three practices this week.

“There’s not,” head coach Kliff Kingsbury said Thursday. “I’m sure he did have an extended birthday celebration but he’s more than anything just resting. He has a great grasp of our system.

“He’s been asking us to practice and we’ve been telling him, ‘No, we don’t need you to practice.’ So we’re going to get him to the weekend and then get started on San Fran next week, game week, and go from there. But he’s ready to roll.”

Fitzgerald was back on the field Thursday during the open portion of practice, according to reporters.

Fitzgerald has been present at practices he sat out, throwing to his fellow receivers a few times this week during individual drills.

The Cardinals have also sat wideout DeAndre Hopkins (hamstring) and running back Kenyan Drake (undisclosed leg injury) to varying degrees over the past few weeks. Kingsbury has maintained both will be available when the season opens Sept. 13 on the road against the San Francisco 49ers.

Kingsbury said the team is being overly cautious with its key players.

Fitzgerald led the Cardinals with 75 catches for 804 yards in 16 games last season and also had two more targets (109) than Christian Kirk, who played in three fewer games.

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