If the Arizona Cardinals believe tight end Trey McBride is a franchise cornerstone, the time to give him a new contract was yesterday.
Don’t wait. If it’s the money, contracts get more expensive, not cheaper, the longer they linger. And Arizona would run the risk that McBride could feel unwanted or unloved or disrespected by the team that drafted him.
Plus, there would be a huge market for a productive, 25-year-old tight end. Arizona knows this and should act accordingly.
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McBride is in the final year of his contract and can become an unrestricted free agent in 2026. He is due $5.3 million in 2025.
Trey McBride has become one of the league's best tight ends, and the Cardinals need to reward him
In the last two seasons, McBride has become one of the league’s best tight ends.
Especially in 2024.
McBride, a 2022 second-round draft pick (55th overall) from Colorado State, had 111 catches for 1,146 yards and two touchdowns last season. He was fourth in the NFL in receptions and one catch behind the Raiders’ Brock Bowers among tight ends. In his three-year career, McBride has 221 receptions for 2,236 yards and six touchdowns.
Pro Football Focus recently listed McBride among the 20 players “next up for big extensions.”
And, PFF is right.
PFF analyst Bradley Locker wrote about McBride: “McBride can easily be overlooked, but he has rounded into one of the premier tight ends in the NFL, actually pacing the position in PFF’s wins above replacement metric in 2024."
Tight ends around the league tend to be security blankets for quarterbacks — receivers who can be that crucial second-read for a distressed, under-pressure quarterback.
At 6-foot-4 and 246 pounds, McBride is a large and imposing target. According to Pro Football Reference, he only had three drops last season and has eight in his career.
That’s a lot of security for Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray.
George Kittle, considered one of the league’s top tight ends, has averaged four drops a season in his seven-year career. Travis Kelce has averaged seven drops a season in his seven-year career.
If Pro Football Focus’ estimation of McBride’s value is accurate, that would mean a $10 million per season raise. That’s a lot of money, sure, but what the Cardinals have to weigh is this: What would the offense be like *without* McBride?
Is that a risk the Cardinals are willing to take? They are an 8-9 team with visions of future postseasons with their core group. Murray will turn 28 in August. Marvin Harrison Jr. had a promising rookie season. The Cardinals have improved their defense.
Their time might be now … or soon. Not extending McBride would be a big step backward.