Trey McBride on First TD: 'That Was a Very Special Moment'
It took him nearly the entire season, but Arizona Cardinals rookie tight end Trey McBride finally found the end zone.
McBride, the team's second-round pick out of Colorado State, has largely been Arizona's No. 2 tight end behind Zach Ertz this year. Prior to Ertz's season-ending injury, the Cardinals only utilized him in over 50% of snaps once.
Yet circumstances saw McBride - who struggled to find his footing in the early portion of the season - take over starting duties since.
Week by week, the adjustments have come and the game has slowly yet surely started to make sense for McBride. He was due for his first touchdown in a Cardinals uniform, and Sunday that came to fruition.
"He's getting better," said Kliff Kingsbury following the game. "I knew with more reps it would expedite his progress. He's got a long way to go. But the skill-set is there. I think he needs a full offseason and things will really slow down for him and if you can get [Zach] Ertz and him on the field together next year in that 12 package it could be a good weapon for us."
With fourth-string QB David Blough needing a security blanket, McBride stepped up and led the team in receiving with seven receptions for 78 yards and a score.
“Obviously it was a short turnaround. We weren’t really expecting all this turnaround with the quarterbacks and stuff," McBride said following the game.
"With the way David [Blough] handled himself this week and the way he prepared was very inspiring and something that brought a lot of confidence to a lot of us. I knew that he was coming in and I knew he wanted to win, and he was prepared and knew exactly what he needed to do. That was inspiring.”
McBride provided Arizona's lone score on the day, as Matt Prater was responsible for all other points with the extra point and four field goals on the day.
“I knew I was going to score. I was just so excited that it was that wide open and I kind of lost my footing a little bit, and I just had to make sure I got in there," said McBride.
"I looked to the ref to see if he gave me a touchdown signal and I think he gave me the safe signal instead. I wasn’t sure if I was sliding into second base or trying to score a touchdown. It was a lot of fun, but it is something I will remember for the rest of my life, that was a very special moment.”
Despite McBride's efforts, the Cardinals again failed to secure a win. They've now lost six games in a row and have just four wins on the season heading into the final week of play.
For the wide-eyed Colorado State product, it's all about enjoying the last 60 minutes of football with his teammates before his rookie season comes to a conclusion.
“I just love being out there with those guys, it’s so much fun playing this game," McBride said. "Unfortunately, we came up a little short this week but I’m not losing any confidence in this team and these guys.”
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