TEMPE, Ariz. -- Crisis averted.

Larry Fitzgerald's decision to play in 2018 instead of retiring after 14 seasons helped the Arizona Cardinals avoid being forced to rebuild their passing game from, essentially, the ground up.

Had Fitzgerald hung up his cleats, the Cardinals would've been without their leading receiver, and would've been on pace to enter free agency on March 14 with four of their top six receivers from 2017 not under contract. That, coupled with Arizona currently not having a quarterback under contract for 2018, would've been as large of an offensive crisis that any new coach could've faced in his first season.

To say Steve Wilks breathed a deep sigh of relief would be a vast understatement.

His offense, for at least a season, was saved Wednesday night, when, Wilks said during an interview on Arizona Sports 98.7 on Thursday morning, Fitzgerald told him he was returning for the 2018 season.

With Fitzgerald back for possibly his last season, he provides new offensive coordinator Mike McCoy with a foundation on which to build his passing game.

And McCoy needed it.

The Cardinals currently have three receivers under contract: Fitzgerald, J.J. Nelson and Chad Williams.

John Brown, Jaron Brown and Brittan Golden are all scheduled to be free agents. Arizona will have tight end Jermaine Gresham, who was second on the team in receptions and fourth in receiving yards, back in 2018. And running back David Johnson, who missed 15 games last season with a fractured wrist, will return.

Between Fitzgerald and Johnson, the Cardinals have some stability in their passing game -- enough for whoever their next quarterback is to begin a smooth transition into the offense.

Imagine the alternative. The new quarterback joins a team without a WR1 ... WR2 ... or WR3.

But Fitzgerald essentially saved the day.

He has proven the past three seasons that he's still capable of producing at an elite level into his 30s. He finished second in the NFL last season, at age 34, with 109 catches, which he turned into 1,156 yards and six touchdowns -- his third straight season of more than 100 catches and 1,000 receiving yards.

McCoy knows this much with Fitzgerald back: He has the slot receiver he needs. Fitzgerald gained 779 of his 1,156 yards out of the slot on either side of the field last season. The Cardinals' next step will be to surround Fitzgerald with a talented enough receiving corps that can take attention away from him, so he can draw single coverage or, at least, have enough space to operate.

The Cardinals' will seek to find those complementary pieces. One or two edge receivers who can take the top off defenses. Another inside receiver who can take a beating over the middle. The more assets the Cardinals can put around Fitzgerald, the better they'll be.

But, for now, the Cardinals got the best news they could've hoped for from an offensive standpoint: Fitzgerald is coming back. Problem solved.