Cardinals TE Trey McBride and DL Khyiris Tonga declared out vs. Commanders

McBride did not clear concussion protocol in time to play on Sunday. Elijah Higgins will have an increased role.

There’s no need to wait for the injury report that will be announced later today because Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon said before practice that tight end Trey McBride (concussion) and defensive lineman Khyiris Tonga (knee) will not play Sunday against the Washington Commanders.

While Gannon also said, “Everybody else, we’re still working through here in the next couple days.” He later said there are no issues with safety Budda Baker and wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., who are both dealing with quadrcieps injuries. Baker was upgraded to full participation Thursday and Harrison was limited for the second consecutive day.

However, Gannon said right tackle Kelvin Beachum (hamstring) is still in the “work through” category. With Jackson Barton (toe) on practice-squad injured, if Beachum can’t go, Charlie Heck would be the likely option although Austen Pleasants was signed to the practice squad this week.

McBride’s absence means a potentially larger role for Elijah Higgins, who has caught all four of the targets thrown his way this season for 41 yards and a touchdown.

Asked about being comfortable with the guy he calls “Higgy Bear,” Gannon said, “1,000 percent. That’s a strong room. Their roles will kinda change a little bit, all three of them without Trey, but we’re very comfortable and confident. I’m excited for those guys.”

The other tight ends are rookie Tip Reiman and Travis Vokolek, who has been inactive each of the first three games.

On the defensive line, Naquan Jones, who was re-signed this week, will likely be active Sunday.

Gannon said of bringing back Jones, “Knows our system. (I) had a lot of love for Naquan. That was a tough decision at the 53 there how it all went. We like the guys that we kept, but he was one of the guys that it was hard to see him go. So we had the opportunity to get him back and he did a good job this week.”

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Sub scribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

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Cardinals injury report: Trey McBride sits out, Marvin Harrison Jr. limited

A look at the Cardinals’ first injury report of Week 4. Trey McBride is in concussion protocol and Marvin Harrison Jr. was limited.

The Arizona Cardinals’ Wednesday injury report leading to Sunday’s game in Week 4 against the Washington Commanders has some surprising names: safety Budda Baker, wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. and outside linebacker Dennis Gardeck.

Defensive lineman Justin Jones (torn triceps) and tackle Jackson Barton (toe) are not listed because Jones was placed on injured reserve and Barton not on the active roster. He is on the practice squad injured list

Rookie wide receiver Xavier Weaver (oblique) is off the report for the first time this season.

The full details are below.

Jones is one of three NFL players that suffered torn triceps in Week 3. The others are Lions defensive end Marcus Davenport, who has also been placed on injured reserve, and 49ers defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, who is expected to be.

Jones is also the third Cardinals defensive lineman to be lost for the season since a year ago September because of a muscle tear early in the season. In 2023, L.J. Collier in Week 1 and Carlos Watkins in Week 2 suffered torn biceps.

Arizona Cardinals injury report Week 4, Wednesday

Did not participate

TE Trey McBride (concussion)

DL Khyiris Tonga (knee)

McBride is in the concussion protocol, but was in the locker room after practice talking with teammates.

Limited participation

S Budda Baker (quadriceps)

T Kelvin Beachum (hamstring)

LB Dennis Gardeck (finger)

WR Marvin Harrison Jr. (quadriceps)

DL Dante Stills (shoulder)

Beachum was back at practice after missing Sunday’s game because of the injury that occurred in practice last Thursday. Stills was listed last week with the shoulder injury, but had a productive game against the Lions. The other injuries are believed to minor.

Washington Commanders Week 4 Wednesday injury report

Did not participate

G Sam Cosmi (Achilles)
WR Jamison Crowder (not injury related/rest)
RB Austin Ekeler (concussion)
TE Zach Ertz (not injury related/rest)
DE Clelin Ferrell (knee)

Limited participation

S Quan Martin (elbow)
CB Benjamin St-Juste (chest)

Full participation

CB Emmanuel Forbes Jr. (thumb)
DT Jer’Zhan Newton (foot)

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Sub scribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

Cardinals TE Trey McBride in concussion protocol after loss to Lions

McBride’s status was the only player Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon had information about on Monday.

Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon didn’t have much new information on Monday about the injuries a few players suffered in their Week 3 loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

But he did have one update to share.

Tight end Trey McBride, who exited the game in the fourth quarterback after a brutal helmet-to-helmet collision with Lions safety Brian Branch, is in concussion protocol.

“We’ll see how he goes throughout the week,” he said.

The Cardinals won’t practice until Wednesday, so we will see how quickly he progresses.

As the protocol goes, he has to be symptom free for 24 hours, then will have a ramp up in activity to see if symptoms return. No symptoms after a full load of work clears players.

The Cardinals will host the Washington Commanders on Sunday. He will want to be out there.

The first injury report of the week will come out Wednesday afternoon.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Sub scribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

Cardinals postgame injury updates following 20-13 loss to Lions

The Cardinals had a few injuries in the loss to the Lions. Here are some updates.

The Arizona Cardinals had a few injuries pop up in their 20-13 loss on Sunday to the Detroit Lions. A couple of starters were impacted.

TE Trey McBride: McBride entered NFL concussion protocol after a brutal helmet-to-helmet hit in the fourth quarter with Lions safety Brian Branch. When McBride came off the field, it appeared that he was unhappy he had to exit the game. We will see if by Wednesday his practice load is impacted. He had three catches for 25 yards in the game.

DL Justin Jones: Jones suffered a triceps injury during the game and was immediately ruled out the rest of the game. He had one tackle before he exited the game. Fans might worry about that injury because the Cardinals lost three players for the season to upper-arm injuries last season.

DL Khyiris Tonga: He suffered a knee injury in the second half and was announced questionable to return in the fourth quarter. He had four total tackles in the ga. me.

OL Jackson Barton: Barton started at right tackle and had a good game but exited in the fourth quarter with a toe injury. He was in a walking boot after the game. He couldn’t put weight on his right foot, which is why he came out.

S Budda Baker: Baker exited the game briefly in the first half. It looked like he suffered some lower-body injury and limped off the field. He returned on the next defensive series and finished the game.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Sub scribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

Fantasy football: Where to draft Arizona Cardinals TE Trey McBride

Analyzing Arizona Cardinals TE Trey McBride’s 2024 fantasy football ADP and where to target him in fantasy drafts.

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Arizona Cardinals TE Trey McBride burst onto the scene in 2023 after a so-so rookie campaign in 2022. Suddenly, McBride has tossed his hat into the TE1 conversation all across fantasy football.

McBride was targeted 106 times last season, racking up 81 receptions for 825 yards with 3 TDs, easily career highs after just 29 grabs for 265 yards and a score in 2022.

The fantasy cupboard has been a little bare in the past few years, but things have picked up substantially in the past year or two with the emergence of young guys like McBride, Detroit Lions TE Sam LaPorta and Cleveland Browns TE David Njoku transforming into key cogs in their respective offenses. Below, we look at Trey McBride’s 2024 fantasy football average draft position (ADP) and where you should draft him.

As we head into the 2024 season, McBride has emerged as a top-notch TE1, and he is a strong consolation prize with plenty of upside for those who miss out on the top 2 options at the position.

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Trey McBride’s ADP: 51.48

(ADP data courtesy of MyFantasyLeague.com; last updated at time of this publishing – ADPs continually change as more drafts occur)

McBride’s 51.48 ADP in redraft leagues has him in squarely in high-end TE1 territory across all fantasy formats. It is fair to start thinking about selecting him as early as late Round 4 in fantasy leagues of 12 or more teams.

McBride’s ADP ranks him 4th among TEs, behind Travis Kelce (Kansas City Chiefs, 34.25) and LaPorta (34.25). He is rather interchangeable with Mark Andrews (Baltimore Ravens, 51.47), while going well ahead of Evan Engram (Jacksonville Jaguars, 59.74) and George Kittle (San Francisco 49ers, 60.06).

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Trey McBride’s 2023-24 stats

Games: 17

Receptions | targets: 81 | 106

Receiving yards: 825

Receiving touchdowns: 3

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Where should you draft McBride?

McBride had some giant fantasy start lines last season, going for 5 or more receptions in 7 of his final 8 outings. He really seemed to develop quite the rapport with QB Kyler Murray, taking off once the latter returned from an injury mid-season.

The one knock on McBride, at least in fantasy circles, is that he managed just 3 scores on his 81 grabs. However, there was some uneven play, with QBs Joshua Dobbs and Clayton Tune seeing time under center. Once Murray returned mid-season from an injury, that’s when McBride had 2 of his 3 scoring connections.

McBride should either be the 3rd or 4th TE plucked off the board on draft day, as he and Andrews are rather interchangeable. In fact, McBride might be a better option, as Andrews has a lot of mileage on the tires and had a major injury in 2023.

A full season of Murray to McBride could mean a doubling of touchdowns, and an increase in fantasy value into the stratosphere. A 100-catch, 1,000-yard season could easily be within reach. Grab McBride from late Round 3 to Round 5 in all fantasy leagues.

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More Cardinals coming in NFL Top 100 Players or will they be snubbed?

James Conner and Trey McBride have not yet been named in the NFL Top 100 Players, which means they will be in the top 40 or notable snubs.

The yearly NFL Top 100 Players that NFL Network reveals each summer has thus far included only one Arizona Cardinals player. Safety Budda Baker made the list for the fifth straight year and comes in at No. 89.

Players 41-100 have been revealed, in reverse order.

As the top 40 players has yet to be released, it is possible that at we could see a couple of Cardinals players among the very best.

Running back James Conner and tight end Trey McBride either will find themselves in the top 40 or notable snubs.

So far, the only tight end ranked in the top 100 is the Lions’ Sam LaPorta, who had a fantastic rookie season with 86 receptions for 889 yards and 10 scores.

McBride had 81 for 825 and three scores.

The running backs to make the top 100 so far are Saquon Barkley (No. 86), Kyren Williams (No. 76), Raheem Mostert (No. 60) and Derrick Henry (No. 49).

Conner had 1,040 rushing yards last season but did it in only 13 games, including 514 over the final five weeks of the season.

Quarterback Kyler Murray probably didn’t play enough last season to get votes from players around the league, especially after his 2022 season was on the disappointing side.

But McBride and Conner definitely should warrant consideration.

They will either be very highly ranked or they will be among the best players to not make the list.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Sub scribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

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Trey McBride calls Marvin Harrison Jr. ‘elite’ and ‘freak of nature’

Trey McBride pumping up the Cardinals’ top rookie rather than tempering expectations.

Arizona Cardinals fans have lofty expectations for rookie receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., selected fourth overall in this year’s draft. He comes with a lot of hype. While some would like to pump the brakes, not even his teammates are doing that.

Tight end Trey McBride was a guest on “The Adam Schefter Podcast” and fed the hype about Harrison.

“This guy is elite,” he said. “He’s a freak of nature.”

Harrison hasn’t played a single down yet and McBride is already pumping him up.

“It’s one of those things where a guy of his stature shouldn’t be able to move the way he moves, shouldn’t be as fast as he is and shouldn’t be able to catch the way he does,” McBride explained. “Everything he does is elite. The hype that was around him in college, he definitely lived up to the hype. He’s a great person, a great player. I’m excited to see the connection he and Kyler have in training camp.”

McBride added the crisp routes Harrison runs, how he gets open and how he doesn’t drop the ball.

He called 50-50 balls “70-30 for us” with Harrison.

It’s hard not to get excited about Harrison. His production was elite at Ohio State. He has freakish physical traits. He will have all the opportunities to get the ball.

It’s going to be fun to watch and see what he does.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Sub scribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

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2024 Schedule Swings: Receivers

Which receiver gets a far easier schedule for 2024? Who experiences the worst drop in schedule strength?

The schedule strength for receivers is typically the least accurate compared to running backs and quarterbacks because two to four wideouts and a tight end are regularly used per team, and each varies in how they mix them.

That means comparing the schedule strength between 2023 and 2024 is also harder to apply to individual players. Only the extremes are likely to matter.

The average fantasy points allowed by defenses to receivers last year were applied to each offense’s schedule to determine their true schedule strength of last year and the same values are applied to their 2024 schedule. This includes considering both home and away venues separately for each defense.

The resulting fantasy point advantages are compared between years and the difference is their “swing points.” The higher the Swing Points, the better their schedule is compared to last year.

This analysis is very close to that for the quarterbacks, but a few differences stem from relying on running backs as receivers on some teams, as that skews the pass distribution.

See Also: Quarterbacks | Running Backs

Best schedule swings

Drake London, Kyle Pitts (ATL) – This is all good news for a franchise that was among the worst in passing for the last couple of seasons. Refreshing with Kirk Cousins, a new pass-intensive scheme and now the most improved schedule from 2023 and it all is looking up for the Falcons.

Diontae Johnson, Adam Thielen (CAR) – Bryce Young was the first player drafted in 2023, but he had little help in any direction for a franchise that owned a minimal amount of passing weapons, a one-year offensive scheme that flopped and a bad schedule. A new set of coaches, upgrades with Diontae Johnson and Xavier Legette, and a vastly upgraded schedule should all make a positive difference and get the Panthers’ passing offense on track.

DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze (CHI) – The Bears already have an embarrassment of riches with receivers DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze, and Cole Kmet. They drafted the top quarterback in the 2024 class and get a nice improvement in schedule. The only downside here is trying to feed all those options.

Amon-Ra St. Brown, Sam LaPorta (DET) – The Lions already had one of the best passing offenses and now enjoy a solid rise in outlook with the No. 3 best schedule for receivers. With the offense already dedicated to piling up the receptions for St. Brown and LaPorta, the schedule only serves to make them even more reliable.

Amari Cooper, Jerry Jeudy, David Njoku (CLE) – The Browns offense needed a break and 2024 should allow the receivers to meet their potential with Deshaun Watson healthy and well-versed in the offense and the schedule finally well above average.

Marvin Harrison Jr., Trey McBride (ARI) – The rookie Harrison and McBride already look like locks for a high volume of targets and they get a healthy Kyler Murray back. Throw in one of the top schedules after only average in 2023, and the needle is pointing up for the Arizona receivers this year.

About the same schedule strength

The bad news is that the Jaguars, Bengals, Dolphins, and Broncos all repeat their ultra-tough schedule strengths from 2023. Can they remain better than their schedule?

Worst schedule swings

Malik Nabers, Wan’Dale Robinson (NYG) – The Giants were already challenged with yet another shaky year of Daniel Jones and now the schedule is working against them. It is enough to drop Nabers another tick and hope he can survive a tough rookie campaign.

Quentin Johnson, Joshua Palmer (LAC) – The Chargers already swapped out coaches and dedicate their offense to running the ball more. And they stripped out all veteran talent from the wideouts. And they rely on what appears to be one of the weakest receiver units in the NFL. And now their receivers get to go against the worst schedule. Justin Herbert is an elite quarterback, but everything with the 2023 Chargers screams that a down year is about to happen.

Marquise Brown, Rashee Rice, Travis Kelce (KC) – This is less worrisome with an upgraded set of receivers and Patrick Mahomes playing in the same pass-happy scheme. If any team can weather a bad schedule swing, it is the Chiefs.

Mike Evans, Chris Godwin (TB) – The Buccaneers take a dive down from their previous No. 5 schedule strength for receivers but their scheme has a huge portion of the targets funnel through Evans and Godwin. They may not equal last year, but shouldn’t fall far thanks to volume alone.

Puka Nacua, Cooper Kupp (LAR) – Nacua blew up with a historic rookie season and Kupp is always dangerous weapon when healthy. This slide doesn’t help but the duo is one of the best in the league. They should still deliver even with the increased competition.

Fantasy Football Top-10 Repeatability: Tight Ends

Take a step back and see how the Top-10 tight ends change from year to year.

Elite tight ends are notoriously thin in the fantasy world, so it is no big surprise to see a high amount of volatile players from year to year. It is a position that really only offers about three or four players with any real difference-making statistics.

Also see: Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver

Chance of repeating Top-10 = 60%

The reality with tight ends is that the Top-5 tend to dominate the fantasy scoring for the position, and the rest make minimal difference, if any. But the position is improving each year in terms of increasing their roles on their respective teams.

Had Mark Andrews remained healthy, he would have pushed the tight ends up even higher. The exciting development is that four of the Top-10 came from a sub-No. 40 finish in 2022. Sam LaPorta was an exception for the ages as a break out rookie, but Trey McBride and Jake Ferguson both showed up in the Top-10 in just their second season, after a little-used rookie year.

The general rule with tight ends is that if they’ve had back-to-back Top-10 seasons, that they offer reliable value. The position is expanding in use by NFL teams and are starting to remake how receivers contribute.

Fantasy football outlook: Arizona Cardinals WR preview

A prized rookie headlines an unheralded receiving corps in the desert.

The Arizona Cardinals‘ wide receivers room has been a turnstile in recent years. Last year’s top two wide receivers both left – Marquise Brown (free agency) and Rondale Moore (trade). Entering 2024, the Cardinals have a new No. 1 wide receiver in fourth overall draft pick Marvin Harrison Jr., who is already being anointed as the ”next big thing” in Arizona.

Harrison joins a pair of in-house returnees – Michael Wilson and Greg Dortch. Arizona added a pair of veterans in free agency with low-investment signings of Zay Jones and Zach Pascal. There are some questions how the depth charter will play out for WR2 through WR5, but there’s no question that Harrison is the go-to guy.