Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride was one of around 60 players at the position who participated last June in Tight End University in Nashville, an event coordinated by tight ends George Kittle (San Francisco 49ers), Travis Kelce (Kansas City Chiefs) and Greg Olsen (former Carolina Panthers and now FOX Sports game analyst).
McBride said at the time, “It’s a cool group of guys. There’s a ton of guys there. They’re all there for the same reasons, trying to spread knowledge, help each other out and get the tight end position to grow as much as they can. It was very cool to be a part of that and to work out with those guys for a few days was a blast.”
Kittle gave a shoutout then to McBride (“he’s just going to keep getting better”), which he appreciated. So it was somehow fitting that those two players will likely be on the field Sunday (Kittle is questionable with ankle and hamstring injuries), only three days after both were named the two tight ends to represent the NFC in the Pro Bowl Games next month.
After getting the Pro Bowl nod, McBride said Thursday, “Obviously Kittle’s been a great pro. He’s been playing in this league for a long time and he’s someone I’ve looked up to since I was a kid. So just to be considered part of that team with him … Obviously we’re in the same (division), we play against each other twice a year. So I’m always trying to one-up him, but just to be on this team with him, it’s going to be a great, a lot of fun, and I’m excited to spend that week with him.”
Asked if he ever told Kittle about looking up to him, McBride laughed and said, “I think he knows that. Obviously, we got a matchup this week against each other, so it’s kind of a cool way to end the season playing against him. We’ll be at those games together too, but just another opportunity for us to go out there and hopefully get another win before the season’s over.”
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