Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride is coming off the best season of his young career, finishing with 1,239 receiving yards, 11 touchdowns, and 126 receptions, all of which were career highs.
Despite the Cardinals' shaky quarterback room, McBride has impressively emerged as arguably the best tight end in the entire NFL. That was somewhat lost amid their unproductive season, which ended with just three wins.
On one hand, we have to wonder whether McBride will experience the same level of success given the uncertainty surrounding Arizona's quarterback position, whether that's Jacoby Brissett or someone else entirely.
On the other hand, we have to acknowledge just how talented McBride has been to start his NFL career, eclipsing 1,000 receiving yards in each of the past two seasons despite being in less-than-ideal situations.
Cardinals risk wasting Trey McBride with their quarterback uncertainty
That success led to Arizona reaching a lucrative four-year, $76 million contract extension with McBride, but it wasn't as simple as it sounds.
"The first offer was actually way lower," McBride said. "It was like [$12 million]. The Cardinals are a tough deal. Then I was like, it might not be the Cardinals. Maybe I go somewhere else. Maybe I play my last year and kind of explore my options."
McBride eventually called the final offer life-changing, hoping to get somewhere close to $20 million annually. That said, it's a bold move for a three-win Cardinals team to low-ball one of their most talented players.
The opportunity cost of committing long-term to the tight end position is one thing, but McBride has clearly emerged as one of the most talented Cardinals players overall. It's wise for Arizona to commit long-term to McBride given the uncertainty surrounding the quarterback position.
Projected starter Jacoby Brissett is still in a contract holdout, expected to get paid as a starter. The alternative appears to be Gardner Minshew II or rookie Carson Beck. Worse players, sure, but none of whom would change Arizona's playoff chances in the scheme of things.
McBride is talented enough to have another strong year regardless of who is getting him the ball. But considering how important he is, the Cardinals need to make him more of a priority. They finally expressed that financially, but now it's a matter of getting him the quarterback he deserves to maximize his superstar ceiling.
At this point, the most realistic pathway to achieving that could be to look ahead to the 2027 NFL Draft, which early projections indicate will be headlined by quarterbacks Arch Manning and Dante Moore.
Hopefully the answer comes by next season, because the Cardinals are wasting McBride's prime.
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