Trey McBride

Trey McBride (born November 22, 1999) is an American professional football tight end for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Colorado State Rams, where he was named a unanimous All-American and the John Mackey Award winner in 2021. McBride was selected by the Cardinals in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft.

Early life

McBride grew up in Fort Morgan, Colorado, the son of Kate and Jen McBride. He attended Fort Morgan High School, where he played baseball, basketball, and football. As a junior, he had 32 catches for 751 yards and 11 touchdowns and was named Class 3A All-Colorado. He repeated as an All-Colorado selection as a senior after rushing for 226 yards, catching 30 passes for 450 yards, and scoring four total touchdowns while also recording 40 tackles and one sack on defense. McBride holds the school's career records for points scored in basketball, as well as for career home runs and runs batted in in baseball.

As a freshman, McBride played in all 12 of Colorado State's games, starting five games. He caught seven passes for 89 yards and one touchdown. McBride was also an Academic All-Mountain West Conference selection and was named first-team Academic All-Colorado by the Colorado Chapter of the National Football Foundation.

As a sophomore, McBride was named first team All-Mountain West after finishing his first full season as a starter with 45 receptions for 560 yards and four touchdowns. McBride recorded his first 100-yard receiving game on November 29, 2019, where he had nine catches for 101 yards against Boise State.

Prior to his junior season and amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, McBride briefly entered the transfer portal before deciding to stay with the team. He was one of two team captains and started all four games of the team's COVID-19-shortened 2020 season. He was named second team All-Mountain West after catching 22 passes for 330 yards and four touchdowns in four games and was also named an All-American honorable mention by Pro Football Focus (PFF). McBride led the team in both receiving yardage and scoring and became the first CSU tight end to ever lead the team in points scored in a season.

In anticipation of his senior season, McBride was named to a number of award watch lists, including the Biletnikoff Award, Mackey Award, Lombardi Award, and the Senior Bowl watch list. On September 4, 2021, the first game of McBride's senior season, he recorded 13 catches for 116 yards against South Dakota State and was named to the National Team of the Week by PFF. In a week three 22–6 victory over Toledo, he caught nine passes for 109 receiving yards on a team-total 110 passing yards and was named the Offensive Player of the Week by the Senior Bowl. On October 16, 2021, McBride recorded a college career-high 135 receiving yards on 7 receptions against New Mexico. On November 6, 2021, in a Border War loss to Wyoming, he had nine receptions for 98 yards and broke the Colorado State school record for career receiving yards by a tight end.

McBride recorded at least 100 receiving yards in six of his 12 games played in 2021, and recorded less than 50 receiving yards only once. He was named the Mountain West Male Athlete of the Year, was selected to the 2021 All-Mountain West first team, and recognized as the nation's best tight end in college football by receiving the 2021 Mackey Award on December 9, 2021. McBride was also named to all five major All-American teams (AFCA, AP, FWAA, SN, WCFF) in 2021, making him the fifth consensus All-American and first unanimous All-American in Colorado State football history.

McBride holds multiple Colorado State school records, including the records for most receptions and receiving yards by tight end in a single season (90 receptions for 1,121 yards in 2021), as well as the records for receptions and receiving yards in a career by a tight end (157 receptions for 2,011 yards from 2018 to 2021).

Professional career

2022 McBride was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the second round (55th overall) of the 2022 NFL draft. He made his NFL debut in Week 2 against the Las Vegas Raiders. He scored his first professional touchdown in a 20–19 loss against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 17. As a rookie, he appeared in 16 games and started 13. He finished with 29 receptions for 265 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown.

2023 During Week 10 of the 2023 season against the Falcons, McBride became the first Cardinals tight end to receive 100 or more yards in a game since Rob Awalt in 1989. He finished his second season with 81 receptions for 825 yards and three touchdowns.

2024 In Week 2 of the 2024 NFL season, McBride recorded six receptions on six targets for 67 yards, along with recovering a fumble for a touchdown in a 41–10 win against the Los Angeles Rams. He was inactive during Week 4 after suffering an concussion the previous week. In Week 6, McBride caught all eight of his targets for 96 yards in a 34–13 loss to the Green Bay Packers. In Week 8, he recorded nine receptions on 11 targets for 124 yards against the Miami Dolphins in a 28–27 win. In Week 9 against the Chicago Bears, McBride rushed for a touchdown in a 29–9 victory. He finished with a career-high 133 receiving yards on 12 receptions in a loss to the Seahawks in Week 12. In Week 17 against the Rams, McBride caught his first receiving touchdown of the season, finishing the game with 123 yards on 12 receptions. The touchdown was McBride's 98th catch of the season, marking a new NFL record for a player to catch his first touchdown of the year. However, McBride's performance was marred after a pass from Kyler Murray bounced off his helmet just short of the goal line with 42 seconds remaining, leading to a game-sealing interception. In the 2024 season, McBride finished with 111 receptions for 1,146 yards and two touchdowns. He was ranked 65th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2025.

2025 On April 3, 2025, McBride signed a four-year contract extension with the Cardinals worth $76 million with $43 million guaranteed, making him the highest-paid tight end in NFL history at the time of the signing. He was later beaten for highest paid tight end by George Kittle. With his 16 consecutive game with 5 catches, McBride surpassed Travis Kelce for most games in a row with 5 catches for tight end. McBride is also the first tight end to ever have consecutive seasons with 100 catches. In a week 16 game against the Cincinnati Bengals, he set the single season receptions record for tight ends. McBride concluded his season with 126 catches for 1,239 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Career statistics Legend Bold Career high NFL

Regular season Year Team Games Receiving Fumbles GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Fum Lost 2022 ARI 16 13 29 265 9.1 29 1 1 0 2023 ARI 17 12 81 825 10.2 38 3 1 0 2024 ARI 16 16 111 1,146 10.3 37 2 0 0 2025 ARI 17 17 126 1,239 9.8 31 11 0 0Career 66 58 347 3,475 10.0 38 17 2 0

College Season Team Games Receiving Rushing GP GS Rec Yds Avg TD Att Yds Avg TD 2018 Colorado State 12 5 7 89 12.7 1 2 3 1.5 1 2019 Colorado State 12 11 45 560 12.4 4 0 0 0.0 0 2020 Colorado State 4 4 22 330 15.0 4 0 0 0.0 0 2021 Colorado State 12 12 90 1,121 12.5 1 1 69 69.0 1 Career 40 32 164 2,100 12.8 10 3 72 24.0 1

Family McBride is the first NFL player whose parents are a same-sex couple. One of Trey's older brothers, Toby, played football at Colorado State as a defensive end.