The 2024 season came to its conclusion Sunday for the Arizona Cardinals and there is no time to waste when it comes to figuring out the best moves to make this offseason, especially with the way the year ended.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The Cardinals playoff hopes swan dove head first into the dirt coming off the Week 11 bye, losing five out of their last seven games to leave the once happy Valley disgruntled and disappointed yet again.
It is obvious something needs to change, and any and every question about what that may be is valued and warranted.
Who does Arizona take with the first pick in the 2025 NFL Draft? Is quarterback Kyler Murray truly the guy? Are the offensive line’s lingering health concerns helping their quarterback? Is head coach Jonathan Gannon and its current staff able to make the right decisions in tough moments?
There are a number of areas that the Cardinals’ front office need to look into heading into the offseason, but it needs to start with keeping Pro Bowl tight end Trey McBride in Glendale.
McBride finished his third season in cardinal red and white on Sunday. As the team’s most consistent and productive player on either side of the ball, Cardinals owner Michael Bidwell and general manager Monti Ossenfort needs to make sure it stays that way for years to come.
???? show the Pro Bowler some love ???? pic.twitter.com/AevqMomAuE
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) January 7, 2025
The tight end was Murray’s favorite target this season, leading Arizona in receptions and receiving yards. His 111 receptions were the fourth most in the NFL and second amongst all tight ends, falling one shy of Las Vegas rookie wide receiver Brock Bowers 112, despite playing one less game. His 1,146 yards finished 11th in the league.
McBride brought his career total receptions to 221, passing fellow NFC Pro Bowl tight end and San Francisco 49er George Kittle’s 216 receptions caught from 2017-2019. His catch total for the year sits only behind current Kansas City Chief wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins’ 2020, 115-reception campaign for the most receptions in a single-season in franchise history. He became the first NFL tight end to record back-to-back 12-catch games this seasons, named to his first Pro Bowl and was awarded the NFL Network’s Good Morning Football’s last “Angry Run” scepter of the regular season from his failed hurdle turned “This is Sparta!” kick in the win over the 49ers.
THE ANGRIEST OF ANGRY RUNS (and jumps) @mcbtrey ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? https://t.co/WkB0TD4bSQ pic.twitter.com/AvnRSq8CLX
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) January 7, 2025
The only thing that may work against McBride this year, is his two receiving touchdowns that didn’t come until the last two games of the season, but he can’t pass the ball to himself. McBride has shown that he is truly that guy — and a good one too, being named Arizona’s Walter Payton Man of the Year. No one wants to see him leave The Valley, so there’s just one thing to do now: Just give him his money.
Moving on to his fourth season, McBride is eligible to receive a contract extension that should set the bar for tight ends going forward.
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is currently the highest paid tight end in the NFL, finishing up the first half of his two-year, $34.25 million extension. MLFootball predicts the Cardinals to sign McBride to a four-year, $72 million deal, making him the highest paid tight end in NFL history.
????PROJECTION: #Cardinals TE Trey McBride was eligible to sign an extension starting yesterday.
McBride is projected to sign a 4-YEAR, 72-MILLION-DOLLAR CONTRACT, which would make him the highest paid tight end in history.
Trey, 25, has become the best tight end in the NFL. pic.twitter.com/MBd49gmV0f
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) January 8, 2025
Locking in their Pro Bowl tight end to a record-breaking extension won’t just be beneficial for the Cardinals, it will put some pressure on the league, too.
McBride is the hot man at his position, separating himself from his peers and elevating the standard for the next group of great tight ends for years to come. Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta and Bowers of the Raiders are next in line to get paid after McBride. If Arizona can ink their guy to a high-end deal, the Cardinals can force both teams and other organizations in the future to have to play around more with their salary cap — especially Las Vegas, who is looking like they’ll need to make Bowers the first $100 million tight end in a few years.
The Cardinals drafted McBride in the second round with the 55th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Colorado State. His 221 catches over the course of his first three seasons have resulted in 2,236 yards and six touchdowns.
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Reporter Jordyn Bennett covers the Arizona Cardinals, Arizona State, Phoenix area sports and sports related topics. You can follow him on his X account, @j_bennett_live
