**Fitz Loves Cincy**
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With newly-elected Pro Football Hall-of-Fame wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald headed to Canton, he has much love for a trio of Bengals greats and a Cincinnati icon he would like to see in Cooperstown in his own Hall of Fame.
"Pete Rose," Fitzgerald says, "one of the top five baseball players of all-time."
Fitzgerald was here Monday helping the NFL push its flag football enterprise in the city where he became synonymous with cactus during 17 starry seasons with the Cardinals.
If he had played one more year into 2021, he would have played with the Bengals' own legendary wide receiver A.J. Green after he left as a free agent.
"That was a wrap for me," Fitzgerald said. "I had my fill."
But they still became good friends, talk often, and were frequent golf companions until Green recently moved back to Atlanta.
"He's getting better," Fitzgerald reported. "He can't beat me yet, but he's getting a lot better."
Fitzgerald says he reached out to Green about 10 days ago to congratulate him on the tribute he penned in _The Players' Tribune_ to his late Cardinals teammate Rondale Moore. Moore took his own life last month, and Green wrote passionately about the man he called, "Rondale Green," because they were as close as family while calling for the NFL to expand its commitment to the mental health of players.
"I appreciate your honesty and transparency," Fitzgerald said of his conversation with Green, "and willing to talk about something so raw and fresh."
Fitzgerald never got to play with Green, and says if he got to play with Burrow, "That would have been a dream come true."
Fitzgerald got to spend much of last week with Burrow in Los Angeles, watching him get ready to play in the flag football round robin, and came away extremely impressed.
"After practice, he was running extra routes with guys. 'If I get this look, I throw it over this,''' Fitzgerald recalled, and he expounded on the Burrow Cool. "He just seems unflappable. No moment is too big. Nothing can speed him up. To be always throwing it to [Tee Higgins](https://www.bengals.com/team/players-roster/tee-higgins/) and [Ja’Marr Chase](https://www.bengals.com/team/players-roster/ja-marr-chase/) doesn't hurt.
"I told him, 'Hey Joe, I can see why you're All-Pro and won the Heisman.'"
Burrow did NFL commissioner Roger Goodell a solid by playing in the Pro Bowl last month, and now he's literally waving the flag for him as the league's biggest star endorsing the new game.
"After the event, he was talking to Commissioner Goodell. The ideas he has growing flag to expanding things in the league. He takes ownership," Fitzgerald said. "I really liked him, and I'm glad he's one of the faces of the National Football League and that he cares so much about the game and the people."
Fitzgerald had to laugh. Burrow wasn't only a flag quarterback, he was lobbying guys to play.
"Joe was one of the guys who raised his hand to make calls," Fitzgerald said. "He was doing all of our jobs and playing awesome through the process. I wish more guys understood the big picture in terms of a sense of a community. Joe understands it."
Fitzgerald goes into Canton this summer with quarterback Drew Brees, kicker Adam Vinatieri, linebacker Luke Kuechly and running back Roger Craig. He knows Bengals Ring of Honor right tackle Willie Anderson was close in a fifth straight trip to the finals. He wondered how close, but the results aren't public.
"He's going to make it," Fitzgerald said. "He'll make it."