TAMPA, Fla. — Receiver Larry Fitzgerald would be willing to restructure his contract if it meant the team could keep receiver Anquan Boldin, but cap space isn't the problem in extending Boldin's contract.

Fitzgerald's willingness to alter the four-year, $40 million contract he signed last spring was reported on the NFL Network on Tuesday. The Arizona Cardinals, however, are about $41 million under the 2009 salary cap, so cap space isn't an issue with Boldin.

That $41 million figure is misleading, said Cardinals officials, because it doesn't include escalator clauses, option bonuses and tenders to free agents, most of which begin to count against the cap in March.

The main obstacle in a new deal with Boldin is money, especially the guaranteed portions. The two sides haven't negotiated for months, and Boldin has said he won't ever re-sign with the team.

Boldin has deflected questions about the issue this week, and General Manager Rod Graves said the team would "evaluate where we are with Anquan after the season.

"We still consider him a core member of our football team."

Pittsburgh ties: Fitzgerald grew up around the Minnesota Vikings, serving as a ball boy for the team, but he grew fond of the Pittsburgh Steelers while at the University of Pittsburgh.

The Steelers and the university share a training facility, and Fitzgerald said "he used to go over there all the time and try to bum free lunches out of their cafeteria. They had great food over there."

Fitzgerald ended up at Pittsburgh by chance. He was on his way to an informal visit to Penn State when a storm forced a stop in Pittsburgh.

"My high school coach told me that Tony Dorsett and Dan Marino and Mike Ditka went there," Fitzgerald said. "So we went over to their facility and their coaches didn't know we were coming. I met the coaches and we gave them my tape. That was how the relationship started."

Tricks of the trade: Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt is known for using trick plays. As Steelers offensive coordinator three years ago, he called one that went for a touchdown in the team's Super Bowl victory.

"I used to love those trick plays," said Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau. "They got us a Super Bowl championship, but now I'm not so sure I'm a big fan of them."

Warner's Hall worthiness: Much is being made this week about Kurt Warner's worthiness to be considered for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. To teammate Bertrand Berry, it's a no-brainer.

"When you think about what he's done and accomplished in his career, to think that there is even a question about whether he'll be a Hall of Famer or not to me is ridiculous. I think he's already solidified his place in the Hall of Fame."

Berry doesn't think the Cardinals need to beat the Steelers for Warner to get inducted.

"I am sure in a lot of people's eyes it will, but to me, what else does he have to do?" he said. "He's got two different franchises to the Super Bowl. Only one other quarterback has done that. When you think about what he's accomplished — MVPs at every level — I mean, what else does he have to do? He's a Hall of Famer, period."

No respect: The Steelers had the NFL's best defense during the regular season, but Cardinals linebacker Karlos Dansby said Arizona's defense is hungry for some respect, too.

"As a captain of the defense, hell, yeah. Give it to us," Dansby said. "We've done something great. We've changed gears all the way through the playoffs. We started out with a run-and-shoot offense against Atlanta and shut them down. We played against a running team in Carolina, shut them down. Nobody said anything about that.

"Then we had to change gears and play a West Coast offense (the Philadelphia Eagles). That's a tough task because our offense is a West Coast offense. We changed gears. We showed a lot of class, a lot of poise and determination to get the job done."

Mr. Dependable: Nathan Hodel has been the Cardinals' long snapper for the past seven seasons and hasn't missed a game. During that streak, he also almost never has missed his target when he snaps the ball.

"Mr. (Al) Davis, when I was at Oakland, used to say, 'You've got to go to sleep at night, and the way you go to sleep at night is you've got a long snapper you can count on,' " Cardinals special teams coach Kevin Spencer said.

"And he's absolutely correct. Nate is a very solid, dependable, no-nonsense guy, so you almost take it for granted that it's going to be that way."