Fitzgerald: 'No truth' to reports I'm helping Cardinals find QB

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who's entering the final year of his contract, disputes claims that the team is so desperate to keep him happy that he's advising coach Ken Whisenhunt and general manager Rod Graves in their search for a new quarterback.

"There's no truth to that at all," Fitzgerald said Friday via text to The Arizona Republic. "I have no criteria. The two sides haven't even sat down and talked. I have not talked to any coach on staff for six months. I'm like everybody else scrambling to make this season a success.

"There are much more pressing needs for our team than me. I'm under contract. My situation will work itself out. I'm not worried about it; the team shouldn't be, either. I want to be a Cardinal."

The Cardinals, who played four quarterbacks last season, have been widely speculated to be among the top suitors for Philadephia Eagles backup Kevin Kolb. More fuel was added to the fire Thursday, when FOXSportsArizona.com cited a source in reporting that Fitzgerald and Kolb worked out together earlier this month at Arizona State University.

Mike Jurecki of KGME-AM reported earlier this week that the Cardinals would offer cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, a 2008 first-round draft pick who made the Pro Bowl in 2009, as part of a deal to acquire Kolb after the NFL lockout ends.

Whisenhunt didn't exactly deny the speculation of a trade for Kolb, recently telling The Republic: "I don't even know where that speculation started about trading or what we're going to give up. We don't even know if they (the Eagles) are willing to do that. That's something that everybody speculates on."

What isn't open for speculation is that the Cardinals are prepared to make Fitzgerald the NFL's best-paid receiver in 2012. The five-time Pro Bowl receiver had 90 catches for 1,137 yards and six touchdowns last season for the Cardinals, who went from winning back-to-back NFC West titles to finishing 5-11 in a division that the Seattle Seahawks won with a 7-9 record.

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Lions DT Suh says lockout helping him regain his mental edge

Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, fresh off winning the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, said over the weekend that the biggest benefit he's realizing from the lingering lockout is the mental break.

"I don't think anything is more affected than our minds in the game of football," Suh said in an interview with CBSSports.com, via the Detroit Free Press. "Obviously, we're well-tuned athletes, or we wouldn't be in the position that we are, but mentally, if you're not into it and you can't focus, there's no way you can physically get it done."

Suh addressed a wide range of topics during the interview, including his place on NFL Network's "The Top 100 Players of 2011." An All-Pro as a rookie, Suh placed 51st on the list generated from votes by his peers.

"That ranking isn't going to win me any games," Suh said. "Until that ranking can win me some games, then I'll actually care about it."

Another television topic brought to Suh's attention was the possibility of HBO's "Hard Knocks" featuring the Lions, although the team declined to participate.

"I don't know if we'd be a good fit," Suh said. "I think it would be great for the city to see what we're doing and so forth, but, in my personal opinion, I don't really like the limelight ... especially when I'm in a workout. That's probably one of the most annoying things that you sometimes have to encounter.

"I'm actually kinda glad we (declined the offer), because I'd like to keep nice and quiet, keep everything in-house, then we'll show what we've got on that football when we get out there that first game."

Suh, the second overall selection in the 2010 NFL Draft, was more animated when the topic of expectations was broached. He believes he could have accomplished even more than the team-high 10 sacks and 66 tackles he amassed last season.

"I'm definitely surprised that people feel like I could accomplish what I accomplished and even more than that, because I felt I left a lot of things on the field," he said. "People may have preconceived notions of me not being able to do something ... I'm gonna go out there and continue to prove it, not only for myself and my teammates, but to show anything is possible. To show younger guys coming up in the ranks that you don't want to be me, you can always be better than me."

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