Larry Fitzgerald moves to No. 3 all-time in NFL receiving yards

Arizona Cardinals receiver and former Pitt standout Larry Fitzgerald passed Randy Moss on the NFL’s all-time receiving yards list on Sunday, when he reeled in five catches for 44 yards in a 12-7 win over the Tennessee Titans.

Moss finished his career after the 2012 season at the age of 35 with 15,292 yards. For five years, that ranked third only to Jerry Rice (22,895) and Terrell Owens (15,934), but Fitzgerald, 34, has now amassed 15,311 in his career and looks poised to pile on more yards before calling it quits.

Before he came to Pitt, Fitzgerald grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and as a ball boy for the Minnesota Vikings, he knew Moss personally and looked up to him. He talked about their history and what Moss meant to him on Thursday.

“I love Randy. He taught me this game,” Fitzgerald said, per Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. “Grew up immortalizing him, watching him, trying to emulate what he was doing every single day. I remember him supporting me in high school ... giving me cleats and gloves, letting me use his car for prom or taking care of me after I washed his cars, letting me come to the house and play basketball.”

In addition to breaking into the all-time top three for receiving yards, Fitzgerald has positioned himself nicely to finish the season with over 1,000 receiving yards for the third consecutive year and the ninth time in his career. After Sunday’s game, he’s 78 yards away from the mark with three opponents left on the schedule.