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Larry Fitzgerald is coming back.

The 11-time Pro Bowl wide receiver finally ended speculation Thursday via his new coach Steve Wilks, who revealed during an interview on 98.7, Arizona's Sports Station, that Fitzgerald told him Wednesday he was indeed going to play again in 2018.

"Funny you ask that question," Wilks said when asked if there was any news on the Fitz front. "I spoke with Larry last night, and it's a very exciting time for all of us, to all the Arizona Cardinals fans around the world, it's exciting that Larry mentioned to me last night he is coming back for the 2018 season."

It will be Fitzgerald's 15th NFL season. Despite the fact he will turn 35 on Aug. 31, Fitzgerald has enjoyed three of his best seasons the past three years.

As ArizonaCardinals.com's Darren Urban noted, the feeling had been that Fitzgerald would play again, in part because he was willing to sign a contract extension in early November for 2018. At the time, he would not commit to playing, and once Bruce Arians retired, it made sense for him to wait to see what the new coaching staff would look like.

The Cardinals hired Wilks to be the head coach Jan. 22, and offensive coordinator Mike McCoy was hired soon after. Both noted that, in conversations with Fitzgerald, he sounded "excited" about the changes -- leading to the thought Fitzgerald indeed would return.

Of course, Fitzgerald made the decision not knowing who the Cardinals will have at quarterback.

Carson Palmer decided to retire after 15 NFL seasons. With the other three quarterbacks -- Drew Stanton, Blaine Gabbert and Matt Barkley -- all set to hit free agency, it's possible the Cardinals won't have a single quarterback on their roster come March 14.

Fitzgerald tied his own franchise record with 109 catches this season, in the process becoming the oldest player in NFL history to reach the 100-catch plateau in a season. He added 1,156 yards and six touchdowns.

In his first 14 years, Fitzgerald has amassed 1,234 catches for 15,545 yards and 110 touchdowns.

His return means Fitzgerald has a chance to rise to No. 2 in NFL history in both receptions and receiving yards this coming season. Fitzgerald needs 92 catches to surpass tight end Tony Gonzalez’s 1,325 career receptions, not a huge stretch considering Fitzgerald has averaged 108 grabs the past three seasons. He only needs 390 yards to pass Terrell Owens’ 15,934 for second all-time.

Jerry Rice, in first place in both categories, is likely unreachable in both catches (1,549) and yards (22,895).

Fitzgerald's active consecutive games streak with a catch is at 211 straight, tying him with Gonzalez for second-longest in NFL history. If Fitzgerald were to play in all 16 games in 2018, he would tie kicker Jim Bakken with the most games played in franchise history at 234.

"Last night, I was partying myself (with the news)," Wilks said. "We've got one of the greatest players ever coming back."

But the work isn’t done.

With Fitzgerald's decision in the bank, Wilks and the Cardinals must now turn their attention to unearthing a new quarterback.

General manager Steve Keim and whoever is named the next head coach will have to draft and develop a young quarterback and/or find a new starter through a trade or free agency. Stanton was 9-4 as a starter during his time in Arizona, but it's doubtful he returns. It's even less likely for Gabbert, who was far too inconsistent in his five starts this year.

The good news?

The bulk of the Cardinals' offensive plans entering 2017 were built squarely around David Johnson and what he possesses in terms of a punishing running game and his abilities as an elite pass receiver. Those hopes were dashed after a season-ending wrist injury in Week 1, but he will be back and as hungry as ever next season.

The combination of Johnson and Fitzgerald give Wilks and McCoy a strong foundation of skill players to build around, assuming they can find that quarterback.

In a semi-related note, it was suggested this week that it might be time for a change of scenery for John Brown.

ESPN.com's Josh Weinfuss contends Brown needs an opportunity to start over and show he can still use his speed when he's healthy.

Weinfuss went on to note the 2014 third-round steal was one of the top small receivers in the NFL at one point, but the past two seasons have been slow for him. After finishing with 1,000 yards in 2015, Brown's health began to be an issue. He was diagnosed as a carrier of the sickle-cell trait and had a cyst on his spine drained after the 2016 season.

It'll be interesting to see what the new staff has in mind for Brown -- assuming he sticks around.