Larry Fitzgerald still doesn’t like to use the word ‘retired’ even as he went into the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame

The awards are going to come. The Arizona Sports Hall of Fame – which includes Cardinals Pat Tillman, Bill Bidwill, Adrian Wilson and Jake Plummer – was going to be a natural.

Among those on hand to watch Fitzgerald’s honor Wednesday night were Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill, Nicole and Tim Bidwill, GM Steve Keim, former GM Rod Graves and vice president of player personnel Quentin Harris.

Joining Fitzgerald in the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame class of 2022 – the 51st class for the Hall – were Phoenix Mercury star Jennifer Gillom, Super Bowl Committee Chairman Mike Kennedy, ESPN and Arizona Republic reporter Pedro Gomez, ASU basketball star and longtime Seton Catholic coach Karen Self, and NAU basketball star Peggy Kennedy.

Canton will come calling for Fitz and likely on the first ballot in 2026. But first, there figures to be an induction into the Cardinals Ring of Honor.

“There are a lot of guys that are deserving to be up there,” Fitzgerald said. “I’ve had a lot of conversations with Michael over the years and I’ll leave that up to him and Nicole, Tim and Bill, it’s their decision who they put in the Ring of Honor.”

Of course, such things come with speeches and acknowledgments – “I wouldn’t say I am all that comfortable in this type of setting,” he acknowledged – but that comes with the book once you start the next chapter of your life.

“I talked to a former player one time,” Fitzgerald said. “He said ‘You can’t live your life watching the replays.’ You’ve got to strive to do new things.”