Cardinals' Trey McBride wants to follow in footsteps of Chiefs' Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes

Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride enjoyed the best season, to date, of his NFL career while catching passes thrown by quarterback Kyler Murray. McBride then inked a four-year, $76M contract extension with $43M guaranteed this past April. 

While appearing on ESPN from the annual Tight End University summit on Tuesday, McBride mentioned that he feels he and Murray can follow in the footsteps of Kansas City Chiefs stars Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes sooner rather than later. 

"[Kelce] would always give us some nuggets on being friendly to the quarterback," McBride explained, per Grant Gordon of the NFL's website. "Make sure you and your quarterback are on the same page. ...Him and Mahomes have a nice connection, and I kind of took that and was like, 'Why can't Kyler and I have that same connection?' I feel like that's what I tried to do. I tried to have that same relationship and that growth with Kyler and just continue to make plays for him and be that security blanket."

Together, Kelce and Mahomes have helped the Chiefs claim three Super Bowl championships during what became Hall of Fame careers. To compare, some believe the Cardinals could part ways with Murray as soon as next offseason if he doesn't notch the first playoff win of his NFL career in January 2026. 

That said, the Cardinals making wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. the fourth overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft seemed to do wonders for the McBride-Murray connection. According to ESPN stats, McBride finished the 2024 regular season ranked fourth in the league with 111 receptions, eighth with 147 targets and 11th with 1,146 receiving yards. He also contributed a pair of touchdown catches. 

"It's so much fun to me because the plays are never over with that guy," McBride said about sharing an offense with the elusive Murray. "You think he's going to get tackled, and he makes someone miss or does something crazy and it's so much fun to play with him because the plays are never over. You always have a chance if Kyler has the ball in his hands."

That's all well and good, but Murray may have to do more than produce the occasional highlight-reel play this fall to stay with the Cardinals beyond the 2025 campaign. As of Wednesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Cardinals as a +130 betting underdog to qualify for the playoffs.