2 weeks Ago
TEMPE, Ariz. — It was just two years ago that Cardinals tight end Trey McBride had his first meeting with the team's new coaching staff, including offensive coordinator Drew Petzing. The coach's message to the second-year player was honest — we like you, but we're not sure how big of a role you'll have.
McBride didn't take long to answer that question. The 6-foot-4, 246-pounder's quick rise into one of the NFL's premier offensive players continued this week when the 25-year-old signed a $76 million, four-year deal that will keep him with the franchise through the 2029 season and makes him the league's highest-paid tight end. It's all a little hard to fathom for a guy from Fort Morgan, Colorado, a small town about 80 miles northeast of Denver with a population of about 11,000.
He played college ball in relative obscurity at Colorado State, and the Cardinals took some criticism from pundits who thought it was a reach to take McBride in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft. These days, it's looking more like a steal. "It's been a journey, there's no doubt about it," McBride said.
"I'm the first tight end taken and I hardly play my first year, got 29 catches. It was just a rocky rookie year, didn't play as much as I wanted to. But I kept my head down, kept grinding.
.. David Brandt , gqlshare.
