The 2025 season offered little solace for supporters of the Arizona Cardinals. Following a difficult beginning, Kyler Murray, once the top draft selection, was sidelined, signaling a probable conclusion to his tenure with the team. Furthermore, Marvin Harrison Jr., a first-round rookie from the previous year, did not show expected progress before a physical setback cut short his sophomore campaign.
However, amidst these challenges, a particular individual on the squad consistently performed exceptionally, even achieving a new historical benchmark. Despite the pervasive gloom, tight end Trey McBride successfully established a new record for the highest number of receptions by a tight end within a single season.
At 26 years old, McBride accomplished this milestone by securing his 117th reception of the season during the team’s 37-14 defeat to the Cincinnati Bengals in their seventeenth game. This particular record-breaking grab was rather unremarkable; McBride merely executed a swift comeback route with the squad behind 37-7, less than five minutes remaining in the contest.
This specific reception was certainly not McBride’s most spectacular of the day; he later found the end zone during the same possession, narrowing the score to 37-14.
Nevertheless, his most remarkable grab likely occurred at the start of the final quarter. After a pass was deflected at the line of scrimmage, McBride needed to retreat for the ball, then jump amidst four Bengals opponents to avert an interception. He successfully secured the reception, contributing further to his eventual record-breaking tally.
There was no certainty that McBride would surpass the record in the seventeenth week – a benchmark previously established by Zach Ertz, a former Cardinals tight end who recorded 116 receptions for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2018. McBride began that week having accumulated 109 catches, requiring eight more to set a new high.
Following a modest beginning – McBride only managed two catches for 18 yards by halftime – the tight end found his rhythm in the latter half of the game. He concluded the contest with 10 receptions for 76 yards and a touchdown. His total of 119 catches now represents the new single-season tight end record… pending any further additions in the subsequent week.
Although it was probable that McBride would accumulate eight receptions across the concluding two weeks, his accomplishment of surpassing Ertz’s record in Week 17 elevates the impressiveness of the achievement. McBride secured his 117th reception during his 16th game of the season. Ertz, too, reached his milestone within 16 games, given that the NFL season did not feature 17 regular-season games in 2018.
Subsequent to a subdued inaugural season in 2022, McBride has risen to prominence as one of the sport’s elite tight ends. Although he struggled to find the end zone in both 2023 and 2024, McBride dramatically increased his scoring output with a minimum of 11 touchdowns this season, solidly establishing his reputation as a top-tier player in his role.
