3 terrible decisions the Arizona Cardinals made during the 2023 season

2 - Limiting Trey McBride early

Trey McBride is one of two pass-catchers to make this “terrible decisions” list, as the Cardinals had no business trying to give an aging tight end whose career was on the downturn precedent over the upstart second-year player. While Zach Ertz toiled through the first seven games of the season, McBride caught just 15 passes for 178 yards. 

Just think about how much more effective Joshua Dobbs may have been had McBride received the same amount of playing time as he was getting predominantly with Kyler Murray under center. This is someone who averaged 6.6 receptions per game after he became the starter, a number that, if spread out through a 17-game season, equals 112 receptions. 

While McBride probably wouldn’t have reached the aforementioned stat, it’s irrelevant, as he still would have given the Arizona Cardinals offense way more than Ertz. However, at least Jonathan Gannon and Company rolled with McBride instead of another veteran, like the so-so Geoff Swaim, as that may have been a catastrophe.