PHOENIX -- Larry Fitzgerald says he has restructured his contract with the Arizona Cardinals, reducing a big salary-cap hit from his old deal and creating room for signing other players.
Tyrann Mathieu Chiefs Jersey . Fitzgerald announced the move on Tuesday via his Twitter account. The receiver says the move was made to help the Cardinals "get better for 2014." Under his old deal, Fitzgerald would have earned $12.75 million next season and counted a whopping $18 million on the cap. The restructured contract came as no surprise. Fitzgerald said in a radio interview in New York last week that he understood the need to restructure his deal. "When those discussions come I will do what I need to do," Fitzgerald told Arizona Sports 98.7 in an interview at the Super Bowls "radio row." "I have a great relationship with (general manager) Steve Keim, he drafted me in Arizona. I understand his vision and what he is trying to do and the direction he is taking this ballclub. I understand at 30 years old there are things that need to change. Thats part of football, thats part of being an older veteran." Fitzgerald said he knew Patrick Petersons "deal is coming up and he needs to be compensated as the best corner in the game, which I feel he is." Fitzgerald also mentioned defensive linemen Darnell Dockett and Frostee Rucker. "There are a lot of guys that deserve to be compensated for their play," he said in the radio interview, "and I understand that." Fitzgerald is on his third contract in his 10 NFL seasons, all with the Cardinals. Last season, he made his eighth Pro Bowl. Fitzgerald holds every Cardinals career receiving record. He caught 82 passes, most on the team, for 954 yards and 10 touchdowns last season. In his career, Fitzgerald has 846 catches for 11,367 yards and 87 touchdowns. He has not missed a game since the 2007 season. The Cardinals, coming off a 10-6 season in their first year with Keim as GM and Bruce Arians as coach, had several players on one-year contracts, including inside linebacker Karlos Dansby, who resurrected his career with a big season, leading the team in tackles. Azcentral.com reported that the restructuring was a simple swap of bonus money for salary, saving the team about $10 million on the coming seasons cap. Cardinals President Michael Bidwill expressed confidence last week that the restructuring would get done. Keim has repeatedly said the team has no intention of trading Fitzgerald and wants him to retire a Cardinal.
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Kansas City Chiefs Jerseys . PETERSBURG, Fla.BALTIMORE -- In a matchup between the two top teams in the AL East, a rookie right-hander got the best of a 35-year-old looking for his major-league leading 11th win. Kevin Gausman gave up one run over six innings and Delmon Young homered as the Baltimore Orioles beat Mark Buehrle and the Toronto Blue Jays 4-2 on Thursday night. Nick Markakis had two hits and an RBI for the Orioles, who moved within 3 1-2 games of first-place Toronto. Gausman (2-1) allowed five hits, walked three and struck out three in his second consecutive solid outing. The 2012 first-round draft pick stymied Oakland on June 7 after being recalled from Triple-A Norfolk and now appears to be a fixture in the starting rotation. Well, maybe. "Hes done what it takes to be considered," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "Hes taking care of his end of it." Gausman, 23, has given up only two runs in 13 innings during his latest stint with Baltimore. "I feel good about what Ive done. I feel comfortable right now," Gausman said. "Whatever happens is going to be for the clubs best interest." Zach Britton worked the ninth for his sixth save. The victory wasnt secured, however, until a replay review confirmed the final out on a double-play grounder. Buehrle (10-3) yielded four runs and eight hits in 6 1-3 innings to lose his second straight start following a six-game winning streak. The left-hander allowed three runs or fewer in 12 of his previous 13 starts. "I feel like there were times I made a lot of mistakes and they made me pay for them" Buehrle said. "And I made a few good pitches and they put the ball in play and got some base hits." Toronto has lost three straight and five of six, scoring only four runs in those five defeats. "As hot as we were, we were going to cool off sooner or later," manager John Gibbons said. "Well get it going. Were too good of an offence. Well be OK." Baltimore needed just two at-bats to take a 2-0 lead. Markakis led off with a single and the seldom-used Young sent a changeup into the seats in left field, his first home run since April 8, and only the fourth againstt Buehrle this season.
Christian Okoye Womens Jersey. It was the eighth straight game in which Toronto allowed the opposition to score first. In those games, the Blue Jays have been outscored 16-4 in the first three innings. "It seems like weve gone out as starting pitchers and given up runs in the first inning," Buehrle said. "When your offence is struggling to score runs ... it kind of seems its taking the wind right out of our sails. We got to do a better job going out there and throwing up zeroes." The Orioles made it 3-0 in the third. Manny Machado led off with a double to end an 0-for-18 skid and Caleb Joseph delivered an RBI single. Toronto got a run in the fifth when Juan Francisco doubled and came home on a single by Melky Cabrera. The double ended Baltimores string of 23 innings without allowing an extra-base hit, and the run snapped the Orioles streak of 19 consecutive scoreless innings. That would be the only flaw in an otherwise solid performance by Gausman, who was 0-1 with a 6.14 ERA in his previous four appearances against Toronto. "Gausman was good tonight," Gibbons said. "Hes got that overpowering fastball. He was keeping it in the zone. I think in the past hes had some control issues, but its all coming together for him." Doubles by Jonathan Schoop and Markakis put Baltimore up 4-1 in the seventh, and Toronto got a run off Ryan Webb in the eighth when Jose Bautista doubled, stole third and scored on a groundout by Adam Lind. NOTES: Toronto OF Colby Rasmus (right hamstring) went 1 for 3 in his first rehab start Thursday, serving as DH for Triple-A Buffalo. ... Baltimore will send Ubaldo Jimenez (2-7) to the mound Friday night in the second game of the series. Jimenez is 0-5 with a 7.04 ERA in six home starts. Drew Hutchison (4-4) will start for Toronto. ... Baltimore pitchers have gone 42 straight innings without allowing a home run. ... Torontos Jose Reyes opened the game with a single to extend his hitting streak to 13 games. ... Markakis passed Brian Roberts and moved into sole possession of seventh place on the Orioles career list with 1,453 hits. ' ' '