Cardinals’ Michael Carter talks Thanksgiving, volunteering
Michael Carter participated in the Arizona Cardinals’ community outreach at the Phoenix Rescue Mission ahead of Thanksgiving.
- Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride is having a statistically dominant season despite the team’s poor record.
- McBride leads all NFL tight ends in receptions and receiving yards over the past three seasons.
Eventually, it’s going to take more than a handwritten birthday message on a posterboard to appease Trey McBride.
The sign he accepted from some fans at State Farm Stadium following the Arizona Cardinals’ latest loss, a 27-24 defeat in overtime to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Nov. 23 — a day after his 26th birthday — provided some temporary comfort.
“I thought it was thoughtful of them,” McBride said, staring down at the sign tucked inside his locker. “It was sweet. It cheered me up.”
That won’t be enough to sustain the star tight end. The Cardinals have found a way to drop eight of their past nine games entering Week 13’s matchup at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, Nov. 30. At 3-8 and going nowhere fast, Arizona is likely to miss the playoffs for a fourth straight year.
And this is McBride’s fourth NFL season.
It’s a shame, really, because the Cardinals are wasting away McBride’s talents. They have one of the elite tight ends in the game — the best one they’ve had in 50 years since Hall of Famer Jackie Smith — and they are squandering away what could become another Hall of Fame career.
Given the franchise’s history and the unknown future at quarterback — and the coaching staff — it’s fair to wonder if McBride will get to experience postseason play as much as Larry Fitzgerald did. In 17 seasons, all spent in Arizona, the soon-to-be Hall of Fame wide receiver went to the playoffs only four times.
Larry never left the Cardinals, even though he had plenty of opportunities to win a Super Bowl with a real contender. McBride has many of the same qualities as Fitzgerald: He’s embarrassingly polite, completely team-first oriented and the veritable good soldier.
But who’s to say he won’t grow more impatient in time and ultimately decide to chase a title? It seems unlikely now. McBride signed a rich, four-year contract extension before the start of this season. Once he turns 30 and becomes an unrestricted free agent, anything is possible. He might want out sooner than that if the Cardinals keep losing.
They aren’t losing because of McBride, who over the past three seasons leads all NFL tight ends in receptions (272) and receiving yards (2,377).
A week after hauling in 10 catches for 115 yards and a touchdown during a loss to the 49ers, the 2022 second-round draft pick had another big game against the Jaguars with nine receptions for 79 yards. It marked the 13th consecutive game he finished with at least five receptions. Only Travis Kelce of the Chiefs (15 games in 2018) had a longer streak among tight ends.
With one catch against the Buccaneers, McBride will pass Jimmy Graham (301 from 2010-13) for the most receptions by a tight end in his first four seasons in NFL history.
Arizona Cardinals’ Kelvin Beachum shares his love for volunteering
Arizona Cardinals’ Kelvin Beachum spoke about how it is a blessing to volunteer in the community, especially around the holidays.
Stats and records eventually won’t be enough to satisfy McBride, either. He’s a warrior like Fitzgerald was, and warriors only want to win. Nothing else matters.
“We’ve just got to keep fighting, man,” said McBride, who leads all tight ends in receptions (80) and receiving yards (797) and is tied with two others for most touchdown catches (seven). “It’s a fun game, and I’ll never stop fighting. I’ll just keep going. … If you just keep clawing, keep fighting, it will come.”
But it hasn’t. And it’s got to be wearing down the Cardinals’ gentle giant.
“It sucks losing,” McBride acknowledged. “We’ve got to look ourselves in the mirror and we’ve got to be better – as an offense, as a team, individually. Everyone’s got to look themselves in the mirror and figure out what we can do better to be a better football team and I’m confident we’re going to come back, ready to go against Tampa Bay.”
McBride is one of the best things the Cardinals have going for them, and they must find a way to get the rest of the pieces in order if they hope to finally capitalize on everything he brings to the organization.
“He’s a competitor. He loves to play football,” coach Jonathan Gannon said. “That’s what I think of him when you ask me (to) describe Trey to somebody. He competes snap in and snap out, and he’s playing really well. He really is. I know he wants to do everything that he can to help us win football games.
“He’s detailed out, he practices the right way, he prepares the right way … It’s the reason that we rewarded him with how we rewarded him. He’s a really good player.”
He’s a really good player without a postseason appearance on his resume. And that’s got to change before it’s too late.
Reach McManaman at bob.mcmanaman@arizonarepublic. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @azbobbymac and listen to him live every Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. on Roc and Manuch with Jimmy B on ESPN 620 (KTAR-AM).
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