“Trey!”

“Come here!”

HUG!

“Trey!”

“Thank you for coming!”

HUG!

“Trey!”

“So glad you could make it!”

HUG!

The two-time Pro Bowler and ex-CSU Rams star spent at least half his lunch hour Friday in a black cut-off t-shirt, signing autographs for kids at his free football camp at Legion Field, his old stomping grounds. He spent a lot of the other half greeting old friends and making new ones, country roots and cowboy boots.

“Still think of you as Fort Morgan,” I told him.

McBride grinned at that one.

“So do I, man,” the Arizona Cardinals receiver said. “I try not to let anything change. I’m just very grateful for the situation I’ve been put in. It’s been a lot of fun. I’m just excited to be here to give back to these kids. And that’s what it’s all about, man — just giving back.”

, with free admission for grades 3 through 8. Some 300 youngsters showed up, roughly 150 in each session, a new record-high for attendance. Everybody on-hand was a volunteer; lunch for the kids came via donations. Former Broncos great Joel Dreessen, another Fort Morgan native with NFL bona fides, supervised one station; brothers Toby and Dylan worked another.

“It’s cool. It’s a lot of fun. I love being back here, being around the guys,” Trey continued. “This is a place that’s meant so much to me, and I’m just hoping I can give a little bit back to it.”

They can take McBride out of Legion Field, but you’ll never take the Legion Field out of McBride.

“You’ve got to credit a lot of that to Fort Morgan, too,” said Toby, who works a sales gig in Denver these days. “Just growing up  humble. That’s what we were taught out here — just do it the right way. And he didn’t really know how good he was going to be until he got out of Fort Morgan, got out of Fort Collins.”

Really good. Like, crazy good. The debate isn’t whether McBride is the best player to come out of Fort Morgan, but whether he’s the best tight end in the NFL. His 126 catches last fall were the most by any player at that position in NFL history. He’s the first tight end to ever to rack up 100 or more catches in back-to-back seasons. of more than 70 coaches, executives and experts that rank the top 10 players at each position, the former Rams star jumped from fourth in ’25 to second in the circuit this year, behind only the Raiders’ Brock Bowers.

“He’s still a great dude. He’s still my younger brother. And we’ve got the same great siblings, great parents,” Toby laughed. “Dylan and I still hold it over him, that yeah, he’s the No. 1 tight end in the NFL, (but) he never won a state title in high school. I’ve got a few. Dylan’s got one. We’ve still got some things to hold over his head.”

Toby went to two CSU bowl games. Trey’s era had two coaches in FoCo — Mike Bobo and Steve Addazio — and won a Mackey Award, but never saw the postseason.

Although that Mackey’s got a bit of narrative to it now, too. Trey told the “Busin’ With The Boys” podcast earlier this month that someone in the Rams athletic department four years ago had grumbled when informed by McBride that he was keeping the original trophy and that the school would have to spring for the money to purchase a replica of its own to display. (It wasn’t former athletic director Joe Parker, a source told me Friday.)

“I mean, (CSU fans probably) weren’t super-thrilled with it. I probably shouldn’t have said as much as I did,” Trey McBride cracked. “I’m very proud to be a Ram. I love Fort Collins. I wasn’t trying to to diss on them at all. Maybe it came out that way, but that wasn’t the intention at all … CSU holds a special place in my heart. So I love everything about it.”

He loves Jim Mora, too. McBride even hung out with the new Rams football coach and his staff a little during spring ball a few months back.

“Very excited for him,” McBride continued. “I think he’s going to do a really good job there. Hopefully you can turn that program around, man. It’s a great place to live. And I think he’s the guy for it.”

The Broncos’ Zach Allen, a former Cardinals teammate, remains a pal. So are the guys in the tight end room in Dove Valley. McBride got to know Vance Joseph when the latter was the Cardinals’ DC. On October 25, the defending AFC runners-up take on Arizona in Glendale.

“They might have to close Fort Morgan that weekend,” I said.

“I mean, I love the Broncos. I grew up cheering for them,” McBride said. “But, Week 7, it’s Cardinals all the time.”

When McBride broke the NFL’s tight end reception record last fall, Fort Morgan athletic director Greg Edson sent a congratulatory text.

“And 100% of the time you reach out, he gets back to you. Which is pretty cool,” Edson told me. “Speaks volumes of his character and the kind of man that he is.

“Yes, there’s a lot of God-given ability there. But, boy, if you don’t put your nose to the grindstone and do something with your ability, it’s useless. And I think that’s the lesson kids need to draw from.”

That, and to leave a place better than you found it. McBride was named the Cardinals’ nominee for the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year award in 2024, parlaying that into the launch of The McBrides are working on its launching the foundation’s first fund-raising golf event down in Arizona soon.

Fort Morgan is a town of 11,000 and change. The typical graduating class at the high school is around 220 or so. Yet the city’s produced three NFL players over the past 25 years, with McBride following in the footsteps of Dreessen and former Tampa Bay Bucs lineman Ryan Jensen into the pros. That’s a pretty good ratio.

“I mean, the Cherry Creeks and the Valor Christians and our premier programs in the state produce great athletes every year,” Edson said. “And for us to be able to get through guys at that level and with long NFL careers, man, it’s really cool,”

Even cooler: Edson’s getting the wheels churning with the school board this summer to clear a runway for Fort Morgan retire the numbers of McBride, Dreessen and Jensen at soon as next year.

That’s not really up to me, so we’ll see,” Trey said. “Hopefully, one day, I can get that to happen. But very grateful to be back home to put on a camp. Man, this is a very special day.”

A special dude, too.  Between sessions, Trey sat at tiny table underneath a little tent at the 50-yard line, inscribing for a queue that nearly stretched to the red zone.

At one point, he handed a youngster back a white football with a Cardinals logo and his John Hancock in black. The kid responded by tearing out of the VIP area like he’d stolen the thing. His old man, meanwhile, just stood there, aghast.

“Hold on, hold on. Stop.” his dad demanded, turning to the prodigal blur behind him.

The kid stopped.

“What do you say?” Dad asked.

The kid turned back to the big man at the tiny table.

“Thank you,” he said.

“You’re welcome,” Trey replied.

The young man looked at the football again. Then he ran like the wind to join his friends, a legend’s unseen smile at his back.

Who would you like to see us pick up in the offseason? I think we need more weapons for Bo Nix. We need a legit WR1 — I love Courtland Sutton, but he’s a WR2 — and a tight end because Evan Engram was underwhelming this year. Who’s out there that you’d like to see us get?

— Mark, Arvada

Hey Mark, thanks for writing in and getting us going for an offseason rendition of the mailbag.

The Broncos have a nearly full complement of draft picks — plus an extra fourth-rounder from New Orleans, which should hover just outside the top 100 — and a good amount of cap space to work with this offseason. They can create quite a bit more space based on extension decisions, potential roster trimming, restructuring and more.  The normal offseason house-cleaning stuff.

I’m not the only one who agrees with your assessment that the Broncos need more playmaking offensively. Left tackle Garett Bolles said it after the season and head coach Sean Payton acknowledged it in his own way after the season. He and general manager George Paton each continue to say they like the young talent they’ve got at receiver and running back, but each also said last week that Denver will look to upgrade anywhere possible.

All three of the offensive skill positions look in need of upgrade, whether that����ap development of players already on the roster or additions from the outside. In a perfect world, you’re talking about receivers Marvin Mims Jr., Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant all taking big steps in 2026. Same for running back RJ Harvey in Year 2.

Realistically, though, Denver could stand to add external options at all three.

Pie in the sky, I’d put the order of impact this way: Top-flight, all-around TE first. Then a No. 1 receiver. Then, a high-quality running back.

The best tight ends in football make such a difference across an entire offense. Of course, a Brock Bowers or a Trey McBride can set the course for an entire passing game. Imagine what the Broncos offense would look like with George Kittle or one of last year’s first-rounders in Indianapolis’ Tyler Warren or Chicago’s Colston Loveland.

The rub, of course, is that recognizing the value of that player and finding him are two different matters entirely. Same goes for a top-flight receiver to pair with Sutton or a difference-making running back. At least in the backfield, the Broncos can entertain bringing J.K. Dobbins back, hope he stays healthy and then work on perhaps finding a new face to fill out the room.

Receiver-wise, Stefon Diggs has said the past couple of weeks that the Broncos almost landed him last offseason before he signed with New England. Denver reportedly checked on Miami’s Jaylen Waddle around the trade deadline. There will be trade speculation about Philadelphia’s A.J. Brown this offseason, along with perhaps a few others. The top of the free agent market is George Pickens — at least until he signs an extension with Dallas — and then players like Indianapolis’ Alec Pierce and Green Bay’s Romeo Doubs, though of those three only Pickens is a true, proven No. 1.  The question for any player, naturally, is the acquisition cost in dollars, draft capital or both balanced against production and also whatever other baggage might come along with the player.

At tight end and receiver, the Broncos don’t need more bodies. They just need one real difference-maker at each. That can actually be the bigger challenge than finding several guys who fit into a mold or a role in the offense.

How will the field-goal decision be treated in Broncos history?

— Ed Helinski, Auburn, N.Y.

None more vividly, likely, than by Payton himself. He said as much last week during his end-of-season news conference. The longtime head coach said he regrets the play-call more than the decision to go for it in the first place, but he didn’t exactly mount a big defense of his rationale for going for it, either.

Essentially, he sounded like he regretted both, but the play call more than the decision to keep his offense, led by his backup quarterback, on the field for a fourth-and-1 from New England’s 14-yard line and leading 7-0 early in the second quarter of the AFC title game, while knowing that snow was forecast to start before the game ended.

Anybody in the business, as long as Payton’s been in it, will have a long list of calls they regret. I’m not sure fans — or really anybody who’s not a coach — maybe realize just how acutely play-callers remember specific sequences and decisions. It can be with a Super Bowl berth in the balance or in Week 6 against Arizona. But obviously, the stakes do matter, and Payton sounded after the game and the following week like a guy who will remember that call and that decision forever.

Am I the only one who agrees with Sean Payton’s fourth-down call? The way I saw it at the time, even after the play failed, was that Payton showing the confidence in his players was worth more than three points in the fourth quarter. The Broncos have been winning in the fourth all year, so this looked like a good bet.

The only problem was that this game did not have a fourth quarter. The weather eliminated that.

— JoeBieg, Longmont

And yeah, the weather heavily impacted the game in the second half. Payton indicated it was worse than they thought it was going to be based on the forecasts they had at the time. But everybody knew snow was coming.

There is a huge disconnect between the thought that the Broncos have one of the best offensive lines in the NFL, yet the rushing attack is so anemic and easily defended. Why is that?

— Mark, Centennial

Here’s what he said when asked about the running game, noting that he’d been in offensive line coach and run-game coordinator Zach Strief’s office since the season ended, talking about studying the run game this offseason.

“There’s probably a series of answers to that,” Payton said. .. “I feel like we’re far enough along with the RPOs and some of that, but when we want to run it under center and control a game — we’ve been able to do it a few times, but not as much as I’d like. That’ll be an important study and with urgency. And then also with the runners, who are we asking (to do what?). Losing J.K., obviously, that was a tough loss. He brought a lot to the locker. More than you would know.

“But that’ll be one of the points of emphasis that I think that we research and look into heavily. I want to play from the gun, but I also will always want to play with a two-back or multiple tight end mindset and have that flexibility. It’s a good question. I think it’s one of the key things that we have to do this offseason.”

If you look just at the splits between how Denver ran the ball before Dobbins’ injury and after, it’d be easy to believe that the Broncos basically had a ball-carrier problem the second half of the season. Clearly, that����ap at least part of the equation, but Payton and company aren’t satisfied assuming that����ap the entire thing.

Payton’s always been a smorgasbord run game believer. He’ll incorporate inside zone, outside zone, power, duo, zone read, RPO, a smattering of QB-designed run. He’s never been one to hang his hat so extensively on one thing like much of the Shanahan tree builds around outside zone, for example. What Denver’s staff comes up with — and what newly promoted offensive coordinator Davis Webb believes in — will be a critical component to the offseason.

Hey Parker, going from jubilation to heartbreak in the span of 30 minutes feels like a wakeup call to me. Do you think, moving forward, Sean Payton will give his backup QBs more reps during the regular season? By more, I mean, SOME. It seems like a little bit of action when it matters would better prepare a team for worst-case scenarios like the Broncos are facing. I get that this was an odd season — with so many close games and come-from-behind wins, Nix didn’t get a lot of time to rest — but surely there were opportunities to get Stidham at least a few reps, no? Even an occasional down here and there? And not actual garbage time, but situations where the plays really matter? Is this a strategy that differs from coach to coach and team to team, or are the Broncos an outlier? What are the pros and cons of giving your backup QB real reps in situations that matter?

— Mark, Fort Atkinson, Wis.

Hey Mark, the short answer is no. Yeah, it would be great to get your backup quarterback some live work during the regular season, but almost nobody builds it into their plan for the regular season. A couple of series late in lopsided games can be a nice reward for your No. 2, but there’s just so little margin for error in the NFL that actively putting a player you’ve decided isn’t as good as your primary quarterback in the game for meaningful time is asking for trouble.

If football were like hoops or baseball, where the value of one game wasn’t so high, then sure. We see this all the time in those sports — a young pitcher who might be needed in the playoffs gets innings in August and September or bench players get extra work in the middle of the NBA season. Those scenarios can do two things: Get a role player comfortable ahead of a time when he might be needed and also take some workload off starters. That����ap just not the way it works in the NFL with only 17 regular-season games and the near-universal acceptance that everything comes down to tiny margins. The Broncos won the division about as comfortably as you’ll see this fall — though it took 11 one-score wins to do it — and even still the only reason they hosted the AFC Championship Game is that New England lost Week 1 to Las Vegas. The Raiders, of course, ended up with the worst record in football.

That could be the difference for a team making the playoffs or not in the future. We see those kinds of tiebreakers and close calls all the time. That more than anything is why teams try to keep their main guys fresh and healthy, but also play them until the moment the action no longer matters.

Hello Parker. Alex Singleton seems like a great guy/teammate, but he is a major liability in coverage. Dre Greenlaw, in my opinion, has not provided what we signed him to do. Mainly because he isn’t in the lineup on a consistent basis. Do you think middle linebacker is going to be an area to focus on in the draft or free agency? Secondly, why won’t Sean Payton get Evan Engram involved in the offense?! It blows my mind watching games every week and seeing the importance of tight ends. And we don’t use ours!

— Mike, La Jose, Pa.

Hey Mike, thanks for writing in. Inside linebacker is definitely one of the most interesting positions to watch for the Broncos this offseason. Greenlaw is under contract for two more years, though his contract is not prohibitive to get out of if Denver decides it wants to go in another direction. He was an impact player against the run, didn’t play a ton of coverage generally speaking and, of course, missed time with two different injuries over the course of the regular season.

Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad aren’t the best coverage linebackers in football, but not all of Denver’s issues in the middle of the field or against backs and tight ends were on them. In fact, I thought both played pretty well in that department over the second half of the season. Really, teams went after the Broncos’ safeties — Talanoa Hufanga in particular — after Brandon Jones was lost for the season due to a pectoral injury.

Singleton and Strnad both said after the season that they thought they played the best football of their respective careers and I don’t really disagree with them. They’ve both earned starter money going forward. If Cody Barton got $7 million per season last year in free agency, I think you could see either or both Singleton and Strnad push toward $10 million a year. Will one of them be back in Denver? Both, but not Greenlaw? None of the three? It seems like all options are on the table at the moment, though having all three back might be a stretch.

Remember, defensive coordinator Vance Joseph will be back for the 2026 season and he’s got a high level of trust in Singleton. Strnad has called his defense, too, when Singleton missed a game in the middle of the season. Those things matter when Denver starts sifting through its roster.

Why does Riley Moss never look back for the ball? He is going to blindly run into someone, draw a flag, and cost us the game. How can Moss be better than Jahdae Barron?

— Eric, Nashville

Moss definitely became a lightning rod-type player over the course of the season, Eric. My take: Overall, he played really well and a handful of the pass interference penalties against him were really soft, but also his low moments were quite low. He’s a tough customer in coverage, but sometimes his technique abandons him down the field. He’s a physical tackler, but when it got away from him against Jacksonville, it happened multiple times that ruptured into big gains.

He was the most-targeted player in football (116) and allowed the fifth-lowest completion percentage among the top 20 targeted defensive backs. That����ap a pretty darn good body of work. But there is also plenty to clean up. A big part of Moss’ game is his ability to take tough moments in stride and play through them. That����ap part of why the Broncos trusted him with the tall task of playing opposite Pat Surtain II.

The Barron conversation is interesting. If the Broncos decide to extend Ja’Quan McMillian this offseason, then will Barron bump outside and compete with Moss? Moss is entering the final year of his rookie deal in 2026. Denver also has a talented cover man in Kris Abrams-Draine in a reserve role outside, too.

The Broncos have a lot to work through there, but not all of it has to happen this offseason, necessarily. It����ap a good problem to have, too, when you have more guys who can cover than spots to put them in. There aren’t many teams in the NFL that can say that.

Hi Parker, I’m concerned about Pat Bryant and how many injuries he’s been piling up of late. I get little things here and there, but concussions aren’t exactly great to accumulate. I had high hopes of him eventually becoming a stronger weapon for us, but I’m afraid his career may be cut short. What do you think?

— Ryan, Wheat Ridge

WTH DK. The Steelers are going to have to try to clinch the AFC North without star wide receiver DK Metcalf, who was suspended for two games after an interaction with a fan against Detroit. The fan in question is now clearly seeking attention himself, but only one of them plays in the NFL and faces actual consequences. Pittsburgh’s still in good shape, but … man.

One-seed vision. A trio of teams playing Sunday are vying to challenge Denver for the No. 1 seed in the AFC. New England is two-touchdown favorites over the New York Jets, Jacksonville is a 5.5-point road favorite at Indianapolis and Buffalo is a 1.5-point home favorite against Philadelphia. They can all get to Week 18 in position to at least hope the Chargers beat Denver and make things interesting.

Record watch. Myles Garrett����ap team is bad, but he is incredible. The Cleveland pass-rusher just needs one sack to break the single-season mark of 22.5, shared by T.J. Watt (2021) and Michael Strahan (2001). Garrett has a chance to break the record by getting to Aaron Rodgers this weekend. If he doesn’t get it, then he’ll have one more shot against Cincinnati. Let����ap get the guy to 25 or some entirely absurd number.

Around the NFC

Ram-ifications. It wasn’t long ago that the Los Angeles Rams controlled the board in the NFC. Now Sean McVay’s team, if the playoffs started today, would enter the postseason as the No. 6 seed. They can still get the No. 1 seed but are more likely to finish as low as third in their own division. That����ap how big Seattle’s two-point conversion last week to win in overtime against the Rams was. It changed the complexion of the race entirely.

Bayou sesaoning. There won’t be a ton of attention paid to a 5-10 team closing out its season, but there are signs of progress for first-year head coach Kellen Moore and the New Orleans Saints. Moore appears to have a promising quarterback in Tyler Shough, a second-round pick back in the spring. They’ve won three in a row and four of the past six. They close with Tennessee and Atlanta. You could squint at a 7-10 Saints team and see a 2026 NFC South contender, which is indicative of the division, too. But still. Progress.

FoCo’s finest. His team’s season overall has been a disaster, but Arizona tight end Trey McBride is putting together a remarkable campaign. The Fort Morgan High and Colorado State grad through 15 games has 109 catches for 1,098 yards and 10 touchdowns. Those are all NFL-best marks for tight ends. McBride could win the tight end triple crown, which would be quite an accomplishment for the 26-year-old. Whoever the next quarterback for the Cards is will love him.

Game of the Week

Chicago at San Francisco

Both of these teams are led by coach of the year candidates — Ben Johnson for what he’s done with the Bears as a rookie head man, and Kyle Shanahan for navigating a brutal spate of injuries and continuing to find ways to keep winning. And both teams have a legitimate shot at the No. 1 seed in the NFC, too. If the 49ers win their final two — a tough task, given the foes are Chicago and Seattle — the top spot and the first-round bye is theirs. Two Bears wins plus one Seattle loss would route the NFC playoffs through the Windy City. The 49ers are 3-point favorites at home in prime time, so this figures to be a good one on the West Coast. If you like dynamic running games, Christian McCaffrey on one side and Johnson’s ever more creative attack on the other is must-see stuff.

49ers 27, Bears 26

Lock of the Week

Seattle at Carolina

Yeah, it����ap a little bit dicey any time a team from the West Coast — particularly from as far away as Seattle — travels all the way East. Yes, the Panthers are still squarely in the mix to win the NFC South. Mike MacDonald’s team, though, has been dynamite on the road. Seattle is 6-1 away from Lumen Field on the season and is going to need that pedigree down the stretch as it closes with the Panthers and then at San Francisco — a matchup that could decide the No. 1 seed. The Seahawks put themselves in the NFC’s driver seat and they’re a 7-point road favorite despite the long trip. There’s a lot of work left to be done to finish where they want to, but it’d be a pretty big surprise if this was the spot at which they tripped up.

Seahawks 24, Panthers 16

Upset of the Week

New York Giants at Las Vegas

The loser of this game will enter the final season with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 draft in their sights. Whoever loses this game will hit Week 18 as the lone team in football with only two wins for the season. Players have been getting put on injured reserve left and right. Other players may not play. If this isn’t tanking, then what is? The Giants came to Denver a 2-4 team with some juice back in October but that wild, 33-32 loss at Empower Field started a still-running 10-game losing streak. The Raiders, meanwhile, beat New England (really!!) in Week 1 and have one victory since. They’ve lost seven straight and already started firing seemingly a coordinator a week. The Giants opened as 3-point favorites but the line is down to 1.5. The underdog Raiders just might have what it takes to mess this up for themselves.

Raiders 16, Giants 15

Pour one out for Two-Way Travis: On Tuesday, former Colorado gamebreaker and Jaguars rookie Travis Hunter had season-ending surgery to repair a ligament in his knee, which could bring a swift end to his NFL career as a two-way player. It’s a shame. Hunter had just started to get going and will finish his rookie year with 28 catches for 298 yards on offense and 15 tackles on defense in seven games. But there’s little chance that his camp and the Jaguars will view two-way stardom as the best thing for his long-term health.

Joe Shiesty about to replace Joe Cool: The brief dream old-guy run in Cincinnati might be over for 40-year-old Joe Flacco, as franchise QB Joe Burrow has returned to practice after missing most of the season with turf toe. The Bengals opened Burrow’s 21-day window to return from injured reserve, meaning he could play again as soon as Sunday against the Steelers (much more likely in the following weeks, though). The Flacco trade didn’t exactly save the Bengals’ season, as they’ve gone 1-3 with Flacco starting. Still, he’s again resuscitated his career with a 102.6 quarterback rating in Cincy.

Trouble in Buffalo?: Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel didn’t , but he certainly didn’t deny it, either. It was a terrible loss for the Bills, who look suddenly vulnerable at 6-3. Quarterback Josh Allen has been typically excellent, but Buffalo’s offense has scored 20 points or less across a 2-3 stretch in its last five games.

Around the NFC

Giants throw in the towel on Daboll: The 2-8 Giants canned fiery head coach Brian Daboll on Monday, a few short weeks after blowing a 26-8 fourth-quarter lead to the Broncos in a game that could’ve saved his job. Instead, they blew another fourth-quarter lead to Chicago this past Sunday, and Daboll’s gone. Now, with franchise rookie QB Jaxson Dart in concussion protocol, former Broncos not-so-standout Russell Wilson got benched ������������— this time for QB3 Jameis Winston. There this year.

Good, better, best: Speaking of Chicago: How about Dem Bears? This year’s officially for real with Chicago sitting at 6-3 and rivalling Denver in sheer fourth-quarter magic. Sophomore QB Caleb Williams has taken a step forward in sack avoidance and decision-making, and is now tied with Bo Nix for the most fourth-quarter comebacks and game-winning drives (four) of any NFL QB this season. First-year head coach Ben Johnson’s electric postgame speeches — — are one of the best things going in the league.

McBride needs better marriage: CSU product Trey McBride might well be the best tight end in the NFL at 61 catches for 603 yards and six touchdowns through nine games. But he’s stuck in purgatory in Arizona, where the 3-6 Cardinals have a near-Broncos-era-Wilson-level contract problem with perpetually hurt Kyler Murray. Backup Jacoby Brissett has been serviceable, but not a ceiling-raiser. McBride’s four-year, $76 million extension in April was great value for Arizona, but might be holding the Greeley native back.

Game of the Week

Seattle at L.A. Rams

Easy pick here. The NFC West is an absolute dogfight, and this game Sunday could decide the division, as the 7-2 Seahawks travel to Los Angeles to take on the 7-2 Rams. Seattle has a legitimate MVP candidate in QB Sam Darnold; the Rams have 37-year-old Matthew Stafford playing better football than at any point in his 17-year career. Plus, veteran WR Cooper Kupp will make his first return to Los Angeles as a first-year member of the Seahawks. Really good TV in the afternoon window.

Seattle 27, L.A. Rams 24

Lock of the Week

Baltimore at Cleveland

Lamar Jackson has been back the last couple of weeks, and the Ravens have survived a nightmare start to ride a three-game winning streak into a matchup with the hapless Browns. Head coach Kevin Stefanski has stuck behind rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel despite an overwhelming mountain of evidence he might be the worst starting QB in the NFL, and Colorado product Shedeur Sanders has still not seen the field. Baltimore could run the score up big-time here.

Baltimore 34, Cleveland 10

Upset of the Week

Houston at Tennessee

Why not? C.J. Stroud is out another week after suffering a concussion against the Broncos in Week 9, leaving the entirely mediocre Davis Mills to start another week as Houston heads to Tennessee. The Titans have been utterly miserable in a 1-8 start, but actually managed to hang with the Chargers last week. Rookie QB Cam Ward’s been playing better ball the last four weeks. This could send Houston into a spiral.

Tennessee 20, Houston 14

Rodgers reunion. What kind of reception will Aaron Rodgers receive when he returns with Pittsburgh to the site of his storied, success-drenched two-year stint with the New York Jets? Wait… actually, yeah, that was rough. Maybe he’ll have Zach Wilson-esque amnesia. The Steelers piled on a bunch of big-name, veteran additions this offseason, led by the 41-year-old quarterback. Will they actually be good?

Miami seat Heat? Speaking of the former Broncos QB — not the former almost-Broncos-QB — Wilson’s the No. 2 for Mike McDaniel’s Dolphins now. McDaniels is a wunderkind coach who somewhat suddenly needs his team to actually win some games. One bad season doesn’t spell doom — Miami did win 11 games in 2023 before going 8-9 last year – but 1.5 might make things awfully uncomfortable. Starting on the road against Indy is a chance for a good start.

Orange state. Ohio housed a considerable percentage of the NFL’s offseason headscratchers. Cincinnati enraged its first-round draft pick and its only true defensive standout and still fared better than Cleveland’s decision to select quarterbacks in the third AND fifth rounds of the draft. At least the Browns came to their senses and paid their all-everything pass-rusher, Myles Garrett. Fittingly, these teams open the season against each other.

Around the NFC

Parsons and the Pack. There just aren’t many trades in the NFL as seismic as Dallas dealing Micah Parsons to Green Bay on the eve of the regular season. Much of the conversation’s been about Jerry Jones and the Cowboys, but the Packers vault to the top of the conversation in the NFC. That����ap assuming Parsons’ back is good to go. Green Bay could use him right out of the gate against Detroit at Lambeau Field. Parsons on one defense and Aidan Hutchinson on the other. Have fun, offensive lines.

Wide-open West. The NFC West might be the most wide-open division in football — or, the most wide-open actually good division (sorry, NFC South). The Rams are deep, and Arizona’s a young team with fun weapons in Marvin Harrison Jr. and Trey McBride. San Francisco and Seattle also have real division title hopes, too, and they face off Week 1 in Seattle. Would you rather pay Brock Purdy $53 million a year or Sam Darnold $33 million a year? Wait, don’t answer that.

Spittin’ mad. Eagles DT Jalen Carter got tossed from the first game of the year without playing a snap. How? Well, by spitting on Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott. The reigning Super Bowl champs better hope that����ap the dumbest thing that one of their players does this season. They got away with it — after a lightning delay, just for kicks — against the Cowboys in a 24-20 win.

Game of the Week

Baltimore at Buffalo

It would be easy to peg this as an AFC title game preview if not for that pesky Patrick Mahomes, who’s played in that game every year as a starter. Still, two prime AFC contenders with future Hall of Fame quarterbacks who have both been stymied by the Chiefs makes for real good television out of the gate. By DVOA, the 2020-24 Ravens and Bills have put together the two best five-year runs without a Super Bowl title in NFL history. How did this entry about a terrific game become so thoroughly about Mahomes? Welcome to the loaded-but-frustrated AFC.

Ravens 31, Bills 30

Lock of the Week

New York Giants at Washington

In 2023, the Giants won six games and the Commanders won four. Then Washington got new ownership, hired GM Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn, drafted Jayden Daniels at No. 2 overall in the 2024 draft, and became one of the best teams in football. The Giants, meanwhile, stuck with GM Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll, drafted receiver Malik Nabers at No. 6 overall instead of any of the three remaining first-round QBs, won three games, stuck with Schoen and Daboll again, and now enter 2025 with Russell Wilson as their starting quarterback. Slightly different trajectories from the division rivals.

Commanders 34, Giants 13

Upset of the Week

Houston at Los Angeles Rams

The Rams and head coach Sean McVay have one of the deepest rosters in football. They’ll be widely picked as a contender in the NFC. Matthew Stafford is on a Hall of Fame trajectory. Things are good in Kroenke land. Except Stafford missed a big chunk of camp with a back injury. That, plus a terrific Texans defensive front led by Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr., make this one a tough start for the Rams, who are 3.5-point favorites.

Texans 24, Rams 23

Los Angeles Rams

BetMGM says: Win Super Bowl: 20-1; Over-under win total: 9.5

���ٰ���Բ��ٳ��:��After Cooper Kupp’s production started to decline, the Rams swapped him out with Davante Adams this offseason, remodeling a stellar receiver room around Puka Nacua. Coach Sean McVay makes it difficult to bet against the Rams, who won this division last year, punked a 14-win Vikings team in the playoffs and gave eventual champion Philadelphia a better fight than anyone else.

Weaknesses: Throwing to Nacua and Adams is Matthew Stafford, who is capable of being one of the best pocket passers in the league. He’s also 37 years old, increasingly prone to bouts of inconsistency and limited in his mobility. Aging quarterbacks are always susceptible to dramatic decline. When they do, they can take an entire team with them.

San Francisco 49ers

BetMGM says: Win Super Bowl: 20-1; Over-under win total: 10.5

���ٰ���Բ��ٳ��:��Kyle Shanahan has the coaching pedigree and top-end talent at his disposal to prove 2024 was a nightmare anomaly. Christian McCaffrey, one of the NFL’s most versatile backfield weapons, is back after an injury-spoiled season. Receiver Brandon Aiyuk (ACL) should eventually return. And future Hall of Fame tight end George Kittle hasn’t shown any signs of decline. Nick Bosa is an unstoppable force in the pass rush and now reunited with defensive coordinator Robert Saleh.

Weaknesses: Medical history. Niners fans will be holding their breath whenever their stars have the ball because of how last season spiraled. McCaffrey played four games. Aiyuk played seven. A team that was agonizingly close to winning the 2024 Super Bowl suddenly resided in the NFC West cellar. Scrutiny surrounds their run defense as well, but the 49ers aren’t getting anywhere without better injury luck to support quarterback Brock Purdy.

Seattle Seahawks

BetMGM says: Win Super Bowl: 60-1; Over-under win total: 7.5

Strengths: It might not be Legion of Boom, but the Seahawks could be rolling out one of the NFC’s most potent defenses, led by Leonard Williams and Jarran Reed up front. Safety Julian Love and cornerback Devon Witherspoon are proven stalwarts. With a defensive-minded head coach in Mike Macdonald and a unit that looks mostly the same after finishing strong last season, Seattle’s playoff hopes rest on his side of the ball.

Weaknesses: The offensive line remains an existential threat. Sam Darnold is a true wild card replacement for Geno Smith at QB. He’s trying to beat the one-hit wonder allegations that followed him from Minnesota ever since his playoff dud. And Seattle is betting on the ex-Rams receiver Cupp to return to form instead of continuing a downward trajectory, following the losses of DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett.

Arizona Cardinals

BetMGM says: Win Super Bowl: 50-1; Over-under win total: 8.5

Strengths: Arizona has an elite tight end in CSU’s Trey McBride, a formidable rushing attack led by James Conner and an improved defensive line with offseason acquisitions Dalvin Tomlinson, Josh Sweat and Calais Campbell. There’s a lot to build on after an 8-9 season, especially with the star potential of second-year receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.

Weaknesses: The Cardinals ranked bottom 10 in yards allowed per pass attempt and per rush attempt last year. Their linebacker room remains lackluster. They’re also going to be confronted with questions about what their ceiling is realistically with Kyler Murray at quarterback, despite how much he progressed last year.

Lose to rivals, you say? Bite your tongue.

Before coming to CSU, Norvell passed the football better than most teams. At Nevada, he had quarterback Carson Strong and . What they did for the Wolfpack was mind-boggling.

Tory Horton followed Norvell to CSU and inflated the Nevada numbers. Then something awful happened. On his way to becoming an early-round draft pick, Horton got hurt.

Suddenly, Norvell returned to his roots. CSU advanced to a bowl game for the first time since 2017 because of a grimy run game and gutsy defense. It wasn’t Iowa, where Norvell starred as a player and launched his coaching career. But it was closer than anyone ever imagined when he was hired to reboot CSU’s program.

Norvell showed he was humble. And nimble.

But as he enters his fourth season with some wondering if he is worthy of a contract extension, the importance of what happens next cannot be overstated.

Can Norvell win over Rams Nation with a Mountain West conference title that he openly discusses as the goal?

Can CSU show that last year’s bowl-worthiness was not the byproduct of a flimsy conference?

Can the coach do it without giving fans, who can only be counted on to sell out the opener and homecoming, an aerial show?

There is a huge opportunity for CSU to take center stage in the state with quarterback Shedeur Sanders and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter no longer sucking all the oxygen out of the room. Given that chance when going head-to-head last season, the Rams fizzled at home.

The Buffs remain the bigger deal because of coach Deion Sanders, but the Rams should have the better season. Norvell believes his team can win the conference.

Is that a deal breaker for a new deal? Unlikely. But a 6-6 record and berth in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl won’t cut it. Rams Nation wants better, and deserves it, too.

This is a chance for Norvell to show he is more modern than we think. He has already won in a different way. Now, he needs to prove he can win with different players, that he can turn over his roster in the transfer portal and remain competitive and interesting.

He’s not Hayden Fry. Maybe, Air Fryer?

“The principles don’t change, but the ability for us to be flexible and find answers does,” Norvell told The Post recently.

“That is so important in football. There’s a way to play games to win. The continuity, even from three years ago, is different. I had NFL receivers running all over the place at Nevada. But I don’t think that would have been the case with NIL now. We have lost eight starting receivers in the portal in the last three years. They keep plucking them. It’s hard to rely only on the passing game if you can’t keep playmakers. But we are doing better at that.”

Norvell has no choice but to adapt. CSU is not unlike CU from two seasons ago.

Nobody, by Norvell’s count, added more experience through the transfer portal in the Mountain West. He is a coach who prides himself on developing players. Still does. But he has to do it a lot faster. Especially with a date Saturday at Washington looming in what we can only hope is the end of money grab openers for the Rams.

“There is a sense of urgency,” Norvell admitted with his team a 20-point underdog. “We have to play our best against the best teams on our schedule.”

Therein lies the rub when examining Norvell’s future. The Pac-12, where the Rams begin play next season, will punish mediocrity. If 7-5 is the ceiling for Norvell, with all due respect, what is CSU doing?

President John Weber agreed with Norvell when he told The Post, “We all expect to win championships. All the tools are there.” Weber has done a terrific job keeping CSU relevant and navigating NIL, while seeking future sponsorships.

Conversations with big-pocketed advertisers and boosters go nowhere if the football team isn’t good. In that way, last season helped. But nobody is going to be handing over money without believing it was the start, not the best it’s going to get.

Nobody believes CSU will become Boise State. But Rams Nation should be able to believe they can beat Boise State.

This year, CSU is hard to figure. They have intriguing wide receivers, two pass-catching tight ends, and a pair of good running backs. But the onus is on quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi to take the next step. He threw only 14 touchdowns last season, while “proving that we can learn on the fly.”

Norvell knows that won’t work this season, especially given the questions surrounding the defense.

“We have an experienced quarterback. We were intentional about playing Brayden as a freshman. We were big boys and knew we would have growing pains,” Norvell said. “We rode that out with him. Now is the payoff.”

Norvell took a huge risk by replacing defensive coordinator Freddie Banks with Tyson Summers. He wanted Summers’ rush-driven, man-coverage heavy scheme. Sounds great. Except for this: The Rams have one starter returning on defense.

“The biggest thing you are going to see is the physicality. We practice very hard. We get after it,” said Iowa State transfer linebacker Jacob Ellis.

You can feel the excitement around the CSU program. The Rams are confident.

But it is time to raise the bar for this school and this coach. CSU cannot be OK with just being OK.

“Our challenge is like every team. We are trying to take all these new players and fuse them together in a hurry,” Norvell said. “But our goal has not changed. It is to win a championship. It’s that simple.”

The team plays Arizona on Saturday night and then returns to closed practices next week before its preseason finale Aug. 23 at New Orleans.

Sean Payton’s team, though, went out with a bang on Thursday over two-plus hours of joint practice with the Cardinals.

Payton had high praise for Arizona head coach Jonathan Gannon, and he said Thursday’s joint practice was among the most productive he’s had in his long career as a head coach.

“I thought both teams were outstanding just relative to the tempo and communication,” Payton said. “… There’s going to be a lot of tape — a lot of good things and a lot of things we’ve got to get cleaned up.

“That����ap how you get better.”

Here are observations from The Post����ap beat reporters on hand for practice, broken up into the Broncos offense, defense and miscellaneous.

Offense

Key standout: For a day, at least, Bo Nix quashed the thinkpieces.

Two days after his worst day of training camp, Nix had his best day of somewhat-organized ball since he torched the Kansas City Chiefs for four touchdowns on Jan. 5. He sprayed lasers over the middle in 7-on-7 to Pat Bryant and Lucas Krull. He ripped a seam ball to Devaughn Vele and a deep out to Trent Sherfield in 11-on-11 periods. He escaped the pocket and found Marvin Mims Jr. and Troy Franklin on the run.

That last point is particularly important. Nix has thrown the majority of his camp interceptions when he’s been off-platform. On Thursday, though, he seemed to drive off his front foot better on throws on the move. His decision-making and accuracy impressed Arizona’s defense.

“I’m extremely proud to see … the rest of the story,” said Cardinals linebacker Mack Wilson Sr., a fellow Alabama native.

• Jerjuan Newton is listed at all of 5-foot-11. The undrafted rookie from Toledo, though, has made some of camp’s most acrobatic catches. He’s certainly earned Sam Ehlinger’s trust with the third-team offense. In a team period, Ehlinger chucked a “he’s down there somewhere” ball down the right sideline for Newton. A Cardinals defensive back was all over him. Didn’t matter. Newton leapt back and plucked it out of the air.

• Speaking of undrafted rookie receivers: If the Broncos elect to cut Joaquin Davis in the hope he sneaks through waivers, they’d better hide his camp tape in a vault. The 6-foot-4 North Carolina Central product showed sticky hands on an end-zone grab from Ehlinger in team reps, and immediately turned and barked at the Arizona defensive back he’d beaten. It’s the second sort of skirmish Davis has been involved in at a joint practice.

• The run game had its moments Thursday. Jaleel McLaughlin made one beautiful cut back on an outside-zone carry, and Blake Watson, Audric Estime and Tyler Badie all had plus reps. Beyond that, though, the offensive line had trouble creating between-the-tackles holes for J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey. There simply wasn’t enough juice inside.

Still, Payton is bullish on his backfield’s overall evolution.

“We brought in leadership, with J.K., and we drafted Harvey early,” Payton said. “And so you’re going to see a difference, and hopefully a markedly different running game. It����ap not always going to be perfect, but that����ap the magic of the good back.”

• Get ready for a whole bunch of reserve offensive-line snaps Saturday, as the starters’ rest will give a long look at some competition for roster spots. Alex Forsyth has had a solid camp at backup center, but he and starting center Luke Wattenberg have both struggled at times to create rushing lanes up the gut. Nick Garguilo is another name on the bubble who’ll get a long look at guard.

• After a silent first week or so of camp, tight end Lucas Krull has stacked standout days. He was one of the Broncos’ most oft-targeted receivers Thursday and made several nice grabs. Krull faced tough odds at a roster spot after the Broncos drafted rookie Caleb Lohner, but he’s making a strong case.

“He’s not a rookie or a young player anymore,” Payton said. “And he’s found some confidence.”

Defense

Key standout: Ja’Quan McMillian continues to have a boom-or-bust training camp. The Broncos nickel made the biggest play of the defense’s day when he intercepted Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray in a 7-on-7 drill. He’s been on a heater in terms of taking the ball away.

McMillian also logged interceptions in both the joint practice and preseason game last week against San Francisco.

The counter, though, is that McMillian has given up his share of big plays, too. In the preseason game, quarterback Mac Jones made a great throw to Jordan Watkins for a 50-yard catch over McMillian. He got beat again in 7-on-7 Thursday, giving up a big play on a fade to Cardinals star Marvin Harrison Jr.

McMillian played with the No. 1 defense Saturday, and that����ap largely been his role throughout camp. The next couple of weeks will determine whether he holds off Jahdae Barron for the job.

• Barron, the first-round pick, had a play-of-the-day candidate, too. In a two-minute drill to end the practice, Murray had a wide-open option in the flat that would have gone for a big play. Barron came on a blitz and leapt high enough in the air to two-hand block the throw. Impressive leaping ability, reaction time and athleticism.

• Broncos cornerback Riley Moss has had a terrific camp, but he had his hands full and then some against Harrison.

These settings, though, are a terrific chance to get players work they might not otherwise get. If the teams played in the regular season, conventional wisdom is that Pat Surtain II would cover Harrison most of the time. In this setting, though, Moss can get the reps going against a top-flight receiver. Denver’s got Cincinnati in Week 4, and Moss will likely get another heavy dose of Tee Higgins, like he did last December. Days like this against Harrison are good prep.

• Former Colorado State tight end Trey McBride had a heck of a day against the Broncos. He ran wide open several times, including a deep throw from Murray on a busted coverage where McBride had time to throw up the touchdown signal while the ball was still in the air.

McBride had a massive year last year, racking up 111 catches for 1,146 yards.

“That����ap a joker,” Payton said. “… When you get one, they’re hard to find.”

• Payton said he hadn’t seen much of the defense’s outing, but coaches told him that they thought the group started slow. Defensive tackle Zach Allen concurred.

“Days like this, there’s always some good and some bad,” Allen said. “We’d like to come out a little faster, but we’ll watch the film.”

• Jonathon Cooper’s high-level training camp continued Thursday. The veteran outside linebacker generated consistent pressure and appeared to play the run well, too. With fellow starting OLB Nik Bonitto (foot) still out, Cooper played mostly opposite Jonah Elliss and Dondrea Tillman.

Sights and sounds

• Broncos owners Carrie Walton Penner and Greg Penner were on hand Thursday, as was Cardinals owner Michael Bidwell. Payton recounted after practice being a ball boy at St. Louis Cardinals training camp back when the club camped at Eastern Illinois.

“I handed out rosters, and Mike Bidwell was, I think I was 18 and he was 17. (ESPN broadcaster) Joe Buck was 15 and running around. We were just football brats.”

• Other notable folks who were on hand for practice: Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning, Arizona Diamondbacks manager Tory Lovullo, and former Broncos assistant and San Francisco head coach Mike Nolan.

• Quite a summit formed after practice when Manning was chatting with Nix and Payton and the group eventually was joined by Murray and Harrison. Manning, of course, played with Marvin Harrison Sr. in Indianapolis for years.

• Murray and Allen had a nice moment during a special teams drill, exchanging big hugs and catching up. They played four years together with the Cardinals before Allen signed with Denver as a free agent. Earlier this month, of course, Allen signed a four-year, $102 million contract.

“He’s a dynamic athlete,” Allen said. “It was good to go against him again. … He’s obviously matured and everything like that. He’s a top quarterback in this league, and every year he gets better. Today he had a hell of a day.”

• The only kerfuffle of practice came during a special teams drill. The sidelines emptied, but nobody really seemed to do much shoving or punch-throwing. Broncos Keidron Smith and Levelle Bailey were in the mix, and Nik Bonitto joined the jawing despite not being in pads.

• Payton said the teams have already talked about matching up with the Cardinals again in the preseason next year. He likes playing non-division opponents who are in the West, which means Arizona, San Francisco, the Los Angeles Rams, and Seattle are likely to continue to show up regularly on Denver’s preseason slate.

Do you know the pledge? 

Campbell still does. He has been a Pro Bowler in Arizona, Jacksonville and Baltimore, and manned front lines from Atlanta to Miami and back to Arizona again. He is one of the NFL’s elder statesmen near the end of a career unlike few others. At his heart, though, the 38-year-old freight train is still a kid. A kid who grew up .

Earlier Thursday morning, Campbell trotted out for the Cardinals’ joint practice with the Broncos. He’d invited the Pirates to come out for his hometown reunion, his first-ever youth team as a 6-year-old from Park Hill. He spotted them in the stands and pointed. Campbell has never forgotten them, because the football love that’s kept him going for 18 years is inseparable from his love for this city.

After Campbell chased around Bo Nix and his once-beloved Broncos for a couple of hours, he gathered with his guests. And Campbell launched into the Pirate Pledge, the kids joining in.

To participate, to do my best. And after I’ve done my best, to feel and say, I’ve done my best to play.

To play my best, and after I’ve played my best, to feel and say, I’ve played my best.

All for one, and one for all.

“I felt like,” Campbell said later, “they’re my family.”

On Thursday, the six-time Pro Bowler returned to his hometown, where he was a standout at Denver South High School decades ago. In spirit, though, he’s never lost his connection to the city. Park Hill made him. Quietly, he’s lifted the Pirates up over the years. One for all.

Founded in 1968, the Pirates have produced some of the city’s best athletes for generations, combining youth football with academic-development programs. Chauncey Billups was a Pirate. So was LenDale White. Former Mayor Mike Hancock even came through the program. Campbell, all these years later, reps his beginnings as hard as anyone.

“We’re grateful, man,” said Dane Washington, president of the Park Hill Pirates. “Because some guys don’t come back home. Some guys don’t care about their community like that.

“He makes it a point — that when he’s in Denver, he connects with us or somebody that����ap attached to the kids in that park.”

A few years ago, Campbell bought jerseys for all 250 kids in the Park Hill organization, Washington said. After he was named the NFL’s Walton Payton Man of the Year in 2019, Campbell donated a portion of his charitable winnings to the Pirates. He spoke to the program’s kids during COVID-19. He handed out tickets. In 2024, after his Dolphins beat the Rams 23-15 on Monday Night Football, Campbell gave a live shoutout to the Pirates with Scott Van Pelt on ESPN.

“That����ap unheard of,” Washington said. “But that����ap Calais, right. He really talks about, like, ‘That����ap where I started,’ and he holds onto that. He values that.”

Campbell has seen it all in the NFL. He’s made several All-Pro teams. He has played for Bruce Arians and John Harbaugh, and played with Larry Fitzgerald and Lamar Jackson. And yet, his return to Denver still ignites wonder. He marveled at banners of the Broncos Ring of Famers hanging in the team’s indoor practice facility. Campbell saw Hall of Fame safety Steve Atwater walk out at practice, now the Broncos’ fan engagement manager, and went full fanboy.

“I’m still like, ‘Man, Steve Atwater,'” Campbell grinned.

It made for a distinct Colorado flavor at Thursday’s joint practice, a small football “fraternity,” as Campbell put it. Cardinals Pro Bowl tight end Trey McBride is a Greeley native and Colorado State alumnus. Mike Nolan, a former Broncos assistant, was also in attendance. The Sheriff himself made an appearance, as Peyton Manning cracked on Campbell post-practice about the 2014 .

“I tell everybody, Peyton Manning could’ve been an All-Pro linebacker,” Campbell said. “Nobody knows.”

For all the love still burning in his heart, though, he’s never been a Bronco. He probably never will, now, as Campbell told a group of reporters after Thursday’s practice that he’d be “very surprised” if this wasn’t his last NFL season. He is 38, after all.

Signing in Denver has crossed his mind over the years. It just didn’t make sense, Campbell said. He hit free agency as a starting-caliber defensive lineman this offseason, and the Broncos were already loaded up front.

Still, over the years — when he’s not actually playing Denver — Campbell has gotten upset when the Broncos lose. Old habits die hard. And his connection to Park Hill remains unbreakable. Never a Bronco, maybe; always a Pirate.

“When he sees the kids, man,” Washington said, “he just lights up.”

The coach’s message to the second-year player was honest — we like you, but we’re not sure how big of a role you’ll have.

McBride didn’t take long to answer that question.

The 6-foot-4, 246-pounder’s quick rise into one of the NFL’s premier offensive players continued this week when the 25-year-old that will keep him with the franchise through the 2029 season and makes him the league’s highest-paid tight end.

It����ap all a little hard to fathom for a guy from Fort Morgan, Colorado, a small town about 80 miles northeast of Denver with a population of about 11,000. He played college ball in relative obscurity at Colorado State, and the Cardinals took some criticism from pundits who thought it was a reach to take McBride in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft.

These days, it����ap looking more like a steal.

“It����ap been a journey, there’s no doubt about it,” McBride said. “I’m the first tight end taken and I hardly play my first year, got 29 catches. It was just a rocky rookie year, didn’t play as much as I wanted to. But I kept my head down, kept grinding and working hard.

“I just put the work in every day, I put the work in over time and to finally reap the rewards is exciting.”

McBride choked up as he spoke those words, fighting back tears as he reflected on his unorthodox path to NFL stardom.

“It����ap crazy and overwhelming,” McBride said. “A lot of hard work has gone into this. Just excited more than anything — happy tears for sure.”

McBride’s quiet rookie season in 2022 came during the final year of Kliff Kingsbury’s tenure. The tight end was inactive for the first game of his career and finished the season with just 29 catches for 265 yards. after the Cardinals finished 4-13.

Given a fresh start with a new coaching staff, the tight end’s production exploded under coach Jonathan Gannon and Petzing. He was a first-time Pro Bowl selection in 2024 and two touchdowns. That followed his breakout 2023 season, when he had 81 catches for 825 yards and three touchdowns.

It����ap no coincidence that McBride’s performance picked up steam following the return of quarterback Kyler Murray, who midway through the 2023 season. The two have established a close bond over the past 1 1/2 seasons and quickly connected after McBride’s new contract was announced.

“Kyler was one of the first guys I talked to — he FaceTimed me — we were able to talk and just rejoice about how excited we are to play with each other a few more years,” McBride said. “To grow, to win and do all the things we want to do together.”

The Cardinals have missed the playoffs during McBride’s first three seasons, though they were in the postseason hunt last year before finishing 8-9. General manager Monti Ossenfort has been busy over the past few months, adding defensive standouts Josh Sweat, Dalvin Tomlinson and Calais Campbell.

The GM then turned his attention to locking up his franchise tight end.

“I didn’t really have a timeline, to be honest,” McBride said. “I was confident it was going to get done. I had no stress. I knew Monti wanted me here, I knew I wanted to be here and that was a great start.”

McBride was on the golf course with teammate Zaven Collins when he got the call about his new contract. It came in the midst of arguably the best round of his life, adding more fun to a great day.

“I had to take one hole off for the phone call — Zaven gave me a double bogey because I picked up — but other than that we had a heck of a time out there,” McBride said.