Trey McBride has worked diligently since getting into the NFL to be one of the best tight ends in the league, to catch 100 passes in a season (twice), to hurdle more than any player in recent memory, and to … have his video game version be nearly perfect?
A recent report said that McBride will be one of a handful of players with a 99 overall ranking in the 2027 Madden franchise, and yes, that's meaningful to him.
"I grew up playing Madden and to get that recognition is pretty special," McBride acknowledged Saturday after training camp practice. "It's something I've worked at. It didn't just come in one year, it didn't just come overnight, it's been a gradual incline. I'm honored and it's cool to me but … it's a video game.
"Guys on the team will throw it out there and rub it in my face. But it's a huge honor and something I'm proud of."
It only makes sense, after McBride's titanic 2025 season (126 receptions, 1,239 yards, 11 touchdowns). It's a rating that's earned. But as close as McBride is to a perfect 100, he can't make a direct parallel to real life.
Improvement is needed. That quest never ends.
"There are still a lot of things I can be better at," McBride said. "I'm not as good as I want to be. You are always striving to be a better player, whether it's with little things, taking care of your body, whatever it is. I'm always trying to improve as a person, improve as a player. That'll never stop, from now until I'm 60 years old."
Whatever new coach Mike LaFleur does in his offense this season, McBride's role won't change much. He's one of the best tight ends in the NFL. When you reach that level, when you are a 99, it just makes it easier for a staff to want to find a way to use your talent.
Yet great players also create a margin for error that coaches aren't going to dismiss.
"What is so great about Trey is that you can put him in a position to be successful and probably have success with it, and you can probably put him in a bad position and he'll probably still make you right," LaFleur said. "I can say that because we have all seen it."
Through two practices (and one jog-through on Saturday), McBride has already popped with enough excellent plays to earn extra celebration from teammates. With Larry Fitzgerald's impending Hall of Fame induction, McBride's work is an echo of when Fitzgerald in his prime would make eye-popping plays in practice rather than preserve himself.
McBride shook his head at the idea he might preserve himself. "For what?" he asked. On Friday, he dove to catch a bomb down the right sideline from Gardner Minshew, a play that was ruled out of bounds (when the play was brought up, McBride muttered "it was in") before he stared at the replay on the video boards.
The effort isn't going to change.
"This is the play I am in, most of the time you know when the ball is coming to you, you see the coverage, you know what route you have, your eyes get big and it's like 'here we go,'" McBride said. "When the ball is in the air, I fully expect myself to make the play. I want to be the same player every day. I want to show my coaches, show my teammates, show myself, that it's not a one-off. I want to make every play that's thrown to me, I want to be that security blanket for the quarterback."
That's how a guy gets 126 catches in a season, how he becomes a first-team All-Pro, how he is rated a 99.
"I’m fortunate to play in Arizona," McBride said. "I love it here. … I'm very happy with the situation I'm in here in Arizona. It's a great spot."
PARIS JOHNSON ACTIVATED
The Cardinals activated left tackle Paris Johnson Jr. from the Physically Unable to Perform list on Saturday, and he returned to practice. Johnson had spent the first couple of days at camp tending to a knee issue.
