Larry Fitzgerald turned down playing for Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Bruce Arians says

Larry Fitzgerald as a Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver?

Former Tampa Bay coach (and former Arizona Cardinals coach) Bruce Arians said in a radio interview on Wednesday that he attempted to try to get Larry Fitzgerald to play for his team for Tampa Bay's playoff run last season.

Arians told Arizona Sports 98.7 FM that he reached out to Fitzgerald in the wake of an injury to Chris Godwin, but Fitzgerald turned down the invitation to join Tom Brady and the Buccaneers.

"When we lost our guys, especially when Chris Godwin got hurt, I called Fitz," Arians told The Wolf & Luke Show. "He said, ‘Coach, I couldn’t run two plays right now, but thanks.' I said, 'I just had to check.'"

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Fitzgerald last played in 2020, getting 54 catches for 409 yards and a touchdown.

He had 1,432 catches for 17,492 yards and 121 touchdowns in his 17-year career, all of which were with the Arizona Cardinals.

He has not officially retired, but he did recently respond to a reader on social media who called the way he handled his retirement as "classless."

"Very classless of you to retired without thanking your teammates and fans . I know the owner , gm and coaches don’t deserve a thing , but You handled it awfully," the tweet said.

Fitzgerald responded to the tweet with: "I respect your opinion sir and thank you for sharing your thoughts. Hopefully I run into you at some point and we have conversation over a cold soft drink I will buy. pray you are well and appreciate your support of our beloved Cardinals."

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He also recently addressed a rumor that he stopped playing with the Cardinals due to Kyler Murray, posting a tweet that said: "This isn't factual information. Have never had a problem with a teammate in 30 years of competitive sports."

Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Bruce Arians: Larry Fitzgerald turned down Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offer