Larry Fitzgerald passes Randy Moss for third in NFL career receiving yards
Dec 10, 2017, 3:46 PM | Updated: 9:01 pm
Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, left, makes a catch in front of Tennessee Titans cornerback Logan Ryan (26) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 10, 2017, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Larry Fitzgerald keeps climbing the NFL record book, and this time, the man he’s passing holds a special place in his heart.
With a 23-yard catch in the third-quarter, the Arizona Cardinals receiver topped his childhood idol, Randy Moss, who recorded 15,292 receiving yards in his career, mostly with the Minnesota Vikings. By surpassing 25 receiving yards Sunday in a 12-7 win over the Tennessee Titans, Fitzgerald moved into third place on the NFL’s career receiving yards list.
“I don’t have any of those gifts that he has, man,” Fitzgerald said after the game Sunday. “Some of the stuff he did, you just marveled because he was just so physically dominating. I would say he’s like the equivalent of like Russell Westbrook when you watch him play basketball. You can try to emulate that but there’s no way you could do that.”
Fitzgerald got to know Moss growing up in the Minneapolis area and working as a Vikings ball boy.
“I love Randy. He taught me this game,” Fitzgerald said on Thursday. “Grew up immortalizing him, watching him, trying to emulate what he was doing every single day. I remember him supporting me in high school … giving me cleats and gloves, letting me use his car for prom or taking care of me after I washed his cars, letting me come to the house and play basketball.
“He’s always been over-the-top kind to me,” Fitzgerald said. “Anytime you can have your name mentioned in the same sentence as Randy Moss, you got to be happy.”
Fitzgerald now trails Jerry Rice (22,895 receiving yards) and Terrell Owens (15,934) in the all-time receiving yards list. He finished Sunday’s win over Tennessee with five catches for 44 yards on seven targets.
The Cardinals extended Fitzgerald’s contract through 2018 in November, but it’s still unclear of his plans following this season.
“I have some more things I want to do. I’ve got three games left (this year), and it’d be wonderful to win those next three,” he said.
Asked after Sunday’s win whether he plans on catching Owens, Fitzgerald said, “I don’t know. That would require me to play another year, I think. I hope to catch him this year.”
Now 34 years old, Fitzgerald has 922 receiving yards in 2017, his 14th season.
He ranks third on the NFL’s receptions list with 1,212 catches, trailing Rice (1,549) and tight end Tony Gonzalez (1,325).
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