Kent Somers

azcentral sports

Sometime within the next couple of years, Larry Fitzgerald will go ghost on the Cardinals and their fans. The face of the franchise likely will say goodbye via social media, or maybe go old school and pay for an ad in the newspaper.

A tearful retirement news conference is not his style.

Often, a team’s icon leaves a void when he retires. And Fitzgerald, the most popular player in the team’s history in Arizona, will be missed by thousands of fans.

But it won’t be hard for the Cardinals to replace him as the face of the franchise, because Fitzgerald’s successor is already in place.

Tyrann Mathieu.

Three years ago, it took an active imagination to think this could happen. Mathieu lasted until the third round because he tested positive for marijuana several times at Louisiana State and was kicked off the team.

Tyrann Mathieu mourns, celebrates his grandmother's life

The Cardinals took a chance in drafting Mathieu, something General Manager Steve Keim acknowledged at every opportunity.

Some critics thought the team was foolish.

“He’s proven to be irresponsible,” ESPN analyst Bill Polian said of Mathieu on draft day. “I don’t know why you’d want him at any price.”

It didn’t take long, however, for everyone else to see why Keim and coach Bruce Arians fell in love with Mathieu. He’s passionate about football, honest about himself, and he’s not afraid to let people get to know him.

Some celebrities open only their social calendars to the public. Mathieu reveals far more.

Just last week, he opened his heart via Twitter after the death of a grandmother who helped raise him.

At every opportunity, Mathieu claimed ownership of the mistakes he made at LSU. For most of the past three years, he’s continued to answer questions about his college troubles, long after most reasonable people would have pleaded to just move on.

Tyrann Mathieu's son works out with him and it's awesome

Outside of Fitzgerald, there’s not a Cardinals player more beloved by fans, which is understandable.

At 5 feet 9 and 186 pounds, Mathieu is the second smallest player on the roster (receiver J.J. Nelson is 5-10, 156 pounds). Yet Mathieu plays with a ferocity that belies his size. The team doesn’t have a better tackler, or a more intelligent defender.

The only thing Mathieu has yet to prove is that he’s durable.

He suffered a severe knee injury in December of his rookie season, and he wasn’t fully healthy again until 2015.

Mathieu was considered a candidate for defensive player of the year last season, but suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his other knee in December.

The Cardinals expect Mathieu to be 100 percent by the start of the season.

“I wouldn’t bet against Ty,” defensive coordinator James Bettcher said recently at Arians’ charity golf tournament. “Don’t do it, you’ll lose.”

On that same day, Arians said, “We’re going to keep building this thing around him and Pat (Peterson).”

Arians was talking about the defense, but the comment also applies to whenever the Cardinals enter the post-Fitzgerald era.

Cardinals' Tyrann Mathieu runs for first time since injury

Peterson made strides as a leader in 2015, but if you want to take the pulse of the Cardinals as a team, you go to Mathieu.

A year ago, Mathieu’s passion fueled the entire defense, and his absence is one reason the unit played so poorly in the playoffs.

The day is coming when Mathieu will be the soul of the Cardinals.

From team President Michael Bidwill on down, the Cardinals know this. That’s why at some point this year, they will try to sign Mathieu to a multiyear contract.

Mathieu is open to it, saying he can’t imagine playing anywhere else.

Fitzgerald, meanwhile, is entering the last year of his contract and turns 33 in August. His departure will be bittersweet for the Cardinals and their fans, who have watched him grow up over the past 12 years.

It will be the end of an era. But fans can take solace in that a new one is in place.