What Trey McBride's Extension Means For Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals signed star tight end Trey McBride to a major contract extension on Thursday, securing his services for the next four years, worth $76 million.

At just 25 years old, McBride has emerged as one of the NFL's best tight ends, but also one of the better overall offensive players in the league. He lit up the box score with 111 receptions, 1,146 yards, and four touchdowns (though only two came through the air) in 2024.

Now, he'll be retained for at least the near future - and rightfully so.

But beyond the fact that McBride deserves his large payday, it also signals a commitment from Arizona's front office, GM Monti Ossenfort and owner Michael Bidwill.

McBride's extension, along with some of their other recent re-signings, signals a new era of Cardinals management. The difference? Where the money is going.

In years past, the Cardinals were no strangers to spending money, but they were inflated contracts, given to aging veterans. There's nothing wrong with paying for veteran free agents — Ossenfort has already done that this offseason with the Josh Sweat, Calais Campbell and Dalvin Tomlinson deals.

Those moves were calculated, and meant to raise the ceiling and floor of a weak DL unit.

But McBride's extension, along with extensions given to RB James Conner and S Budda Baker, tells a different story.

It shows that the Cardinals are entering a new phase of their roster construction. They've seen what has been successful, and seen development out of McBride, and are doing everything in their power to retain a core of playmakers on both sides of the ball.

McBride is the youngest of the three recently-extended Cardinals, and is the most future-oriented move with the longest contract distance.

However you look at it, this move is an investment in both the present and the future. It speaks to the faith the organization has in McBride as a player, but also as a franchise icon, and an offensive leader.

His talent, production and raw playmaking ability might have earned him his paycheck, but the deal signifies a commitment from the Cardinals - both to keeping their premier talent around, and maintaining consistency in their developing players.

McBride may be the first young player to get an extension, and there's plenty of young talent still on rookie deals for some time, but making him the highest-paid TE in the NFL isn't simply a move to reward good play — it sends a message, to McBride, to the rest of the team, and to Cardinals fans: this is the result of a draft-and-develop process.

That's not to say McBride isn't naturally talented, or to take any of his success away from him, but he's a live example of what this regime can look like. Granted, he was drafted by the previous regime, but his developmental years, and most of his reps have come under Jonathan Gannon.

This extension punctuates the first wave of McBride's journey in the NFL, and it stands as a monument to what can be accomplished with competent coaching, drafting and development of young, raw players.

The Cardinals' future is in good hands.