During the month of July, the Last Word On Sports NFL department will determine which three players deserve to be considered the faces of each franchise. For this series, we will only consider active players. In this edition, the Arizona Cardinals are the focus.
Faces of the Arizona Cardinals
Larry Fitzgerald
Since being drafted third overall in 2004 by Arizona, wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald has been one of the best players on the Cardinals. Fitzgerald is one of the better receivers to play in the NFL, as he has over 12 NFL records and seven Cardinals franchise records. Most of his records include the phrases “youngest player to ___” and “most ___ in a postseason.” Fitzgerald has eight Pro Bowl selections to his name and he helped lead Arizona to a close Super Bowl loss in 2008. Fitzgerald ranks fifth all-time for receiving yards per game (76). While Fitzgerald may not be as quick now as he was five years ago, he is a team leader and still has very reliable hands. Fitzgerald blocks, runs routes and leads the Cardinals team to this day. He is signed for a few more years so we will be able to see plenty of Larry Fitzgerald’s impressive plays in the years to come.
Patrick Peterson
Patrick Peterson was drafted fifth overall by Arizona in 2011. Peterson is considered to be one of the best athletes in the NFL. Despite being on defense, Peterson is more than capable of scoring touchdowns on any play. The Cardinals knew they had a special player when Peterson took back an interception for a touchdown on his first career play in the preseason in 2011. Then, in their first regular season game, Peterson took a punt back 89 yards for the game-winning score in the fourth quarter. Peterson scored multiple times during the rest of the season, and he was the only rookie named to the 2011 All-Pro first team. He was a Pro Bowler during each of his first three years in the league before being slowed down by health issues last year. Peterson is expected to be fully healthy and should return to dominant form this coming fall.
Calais Campbell
Calais Campbell has been an Arizona Cardinal since 2008 and has slowly become a dominant defensive lineman. Campbell was selected to his first Pro Bowl in 2014 and was also named to the All-Pro second team in 2014. He has had more than six sacks in every season since 2009, including a career-high nine sacks in 2013. Campbell has also posted 40 or more tackles in every season since 2010. He is currently in the middle of a five-year contract and he is a featured part of the Arizona defense. Carson Palmer was another option for this third slot, but Calais Campbell has been dominating in Arizona for a considerably longer time.
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