Will Larry Fitzgerald return to the NFL? Legendary WR's response to Bruce Arians suggests he won't

Bruce Arians is adjusting to his new role as Senior Football Consultant for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after stepping down last week as head coach.

Without worrying about having to prep with coaches for the upcoming NFL Draft, Arians can spend his time doing other things...like talking to the media.

The former head coach recently made time to speak with 98.7 Arizona Sports. During the interview, he was asked if he tried to reach out to former NFL receiver Larry Fitzgerald when Buccaneers receiver Chris Godwin went down with a torn ACL last season.

Arians acknowledged that he did reach out to the future Hall of Fame receiver, but Fitzgerald admitted he was not in football shape.

Arians said:

"I called Fitz and he said, 'Coach, I couldn't run two plays right now, but thanks.'"

Bruce Arians said on @AZSports radio that he asked Larry Fitzgerald if he'd join the #Bucs for their playoff run after Chris Godwin tore his ACL.

Fitz politely declined, saying he couldn't even run two plays right now.

Arians coached Fitz in AZ. Him & Brady would've been cool.

Fitzgerald has yet to play a single down in the NFL since the end of the 2020 season. He was an essential piece to the team as he helped young quarterback Kyler Murray become acclimated to the league.

Fitzgerald caught 54 passes for 409 yards and one touchdown in his last season with the Arizona Cardinals.

Will the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense continue to be productive without Bruce Arians?

🚨 BREAKING: Bruce Arians retiring from coaching, moving to @Buccaneers' front office, reports me and @LATimesFarmer.

Defensive coordinator Todd Bowles picked to replace him. Staff being told the news at this hour.

Full story: profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/03/30/bru… https://t.co/c9IhdXw2fA

With their former head coach moving upstairs to the front office, the team is now in the hands of former defensive coordinator Todd Bowles.

Bowles brings over prior coaching experience as he was head coach of the New York Jets from 2015 to 2018 and served as interim head coach of the Miami Dolphins in 2011.

The question remains whether or not the team can continue to be explosive without the offensive genius of Arians on the sidelines. The good news is that offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich is still in place at the position and has been since 2019.

Bruce Arians recently had the following to say about himself and Tom Brady getting too much credit for an offense that Leftwich spearheads:

"I get credit and Brady gets way too much credit for what Byron does with our offense. One of the reasons I hope he gets all the credit he deserves this year is to get a coaching gig; you know, he had about four or five teams real interested last year. I would anticipate him to be a head coach real fast."

Brady and Byron Leftwich seem to get along great, and Todd Bowles will likely continue to allow his star quarterback and offensive coordinator to gel together as they have the past two seasons.

Stay tuned as the Buccaneers will look to not only maintain without their former head coach but to get back to the Super Bowl and bring home a third Lombardi Trophy for the franchise.