Larry Fitzgerald expects to play next week

Arizona Cardinals veteran wideout Larry Fitzgerald was the team’s No. 1 option from Weeks 8-10, as he put up some solid numbers in all of those games and earned a “Top 5 WR Performance” for his 160-yard effort against the Philadelphia Eagles. Although the Cardinals defeated the Detroit Lions yesterday, he could only muster two receptions for 33 yards, as he suffered a left knee injury after absorbing a huge hit (Drew Stanton deserves to shoulder the blame for leading Fitzgerald into major trouble).

Fitzgerald went in for an MRI this morning, and the Arizona Republic’s Kent Somers reports that Fitz has a Grade 2 MCL sprain and expects to play in next week’s huge rivalry game against the Seattle Seahawks, who lost to the Kansas City Chiefs yesterday and looked completely inept when attacking through the air. I won’t lock up Fitzgerald to play next week, so I think it’s safe to call him  questionable and a game-time decision. I mean, most players say they expect to play, but, then again, the fact that Fitz is optimistic is positive in itself.

Despite the injury, Fitzgerald toughed it out through the rest of the game after being listed “probable to return”, and this is a situation that needs to be monitored closely. The former Pitt star has 46 receptions for 658 yards with a hefty 14.3 yards per reception average in Bruce Arians’s vertical offense, which would be the third-highest YPR of his career.