Larry Fitzgerald is carrying a little extra weight this offseason -- a by-product of some of his travels the past couple of months. The Arizona Cardinals' star receiver, who's currently 217 pounds, is looking to drop five pounds to make him a better player and a more credible leader in his locker room, Kent Somers of The Arizona Republic reports.
"Ideally, if I could play at 213, 214, that's when I'm at my best," Fitzgerald said. "When I'm at '12, it's hard to deal with me because I can run all day, and I feel strong enough at the point of attack where I can break tackles and stuff like that."
The All-Pro wideout caught 30 passes for 546 yards and seven touchdown in four games at that weight during the 2008 playoffs.
Fitzgerald lobbied for the Cardinals to select Notre Dame wide receiver Michael Floyd before the 2012 draft. Floyd, a fellow Minnesota native whom Fitzgerald has mentored since high school, should be the No. 2 receiver the team has lacked in the two seasons since trading Anquan Boldin to the Baltimore Ravens.
Fitzgerald doesn't feel as though he can instruct the younger players until his house is in order.
"I never like to be the guy who says, 'Do as I say, not as I do,'Â " Fitzgerald said. "I don't want to lead like that. If I ask you to do something, it's because I'm doing it, because I've done it and I believe it's going to help. ... I can't tell you to drop your weight until I have all my 'I's' dotted and 'T's' crossed."
