The Arizona Cardinals have made a strong case for former wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on his first year of eligibility. The team produced a detailed document featuring images, statistics, and notes highlighting Fitzgerald’s career achievements, such as ranking second in NFL history in both receptions (1,432) and receiving yards (17,492), trailing only Jerry Rice.
The Cardinals’ submission to Hall of Fame voters included lesser-known facts like Fitzgerald recording more career tackles (41) than dropped passes (35). These points were presented alongside dozens of other statistics aimed at supporting his selection for the Class of 2026.
Fitzgerald’s candidacy will be decided Thursday night at NFL Honors in San Francisco. This is his first year eligible for induction into Canton. “I don’t want to get my hopes up and for some reason it doesn’t work out,” Fitzgerald said last spring. “It’s completely out of my control.”
During his career with the Cardinals, Fitzgerald was named to the NFL 100 All-Time Team and was selected to 11 Pro Bowls. He was also a member of the 2010s All-Decade team and led the league in receptions at ages 22 and 33. He tied Jerry Rice’s record by recording at least 50 receptions in each of his 17 seasons.
Fitzgerald played through frequent changes at quarterback, catching passes from 22 different players—more than Rice, who caught passes from 20 quarterbacks over two decades.
The current Hall of Fame selection process involves reducing an initial group of 15 modern-era finalists down to seven, from which up to five can be chosen if they receive at least 80 percent support from voters. This year’s finalists include Drew Brees, Luke Kuechly, Jason Witten, Frank Gore, Terrell Suggs, Adam Vinatieri, Torry Holt, Willie Anderson, Jahri Evans, Eli Manning, Reggie Wayne, Kevin Williams, Darren Woodson, and Marshal Yanda.
Brees is another candidate expected to receive significant consideration on his first ballot.
In addition to modern-era candidates, the class may include one to three senior/coach/contributor members. Bill Belichick was not selected this year; other finalists are Roger Craig, L.C. Greenwood, Ken Anderson and Robert Kraft.
While discussion continues about when Fitzgerald will join the Cardinals Ring of Honor—an honor separate from the Hall—attention now centers on whether he will be awarded a gold jacket this week.
The Arizona Cardinals are recognized as the oldest continuously operating professional football franchise in the United States and represent the Phoenix area while playing home games in Glendale as part of the NFC West division (official website). The team won NFL championships in 1925 and 1947 and secured an NFC championship in 2008 (official website).