Heading into his second year, McBride said offensive coordinator Drew Petzing told him he wasn’t sure how much he was going to play at first – a message that McBride admitted he took hard. Ertz got hurt seven games into the season, however, and McBride’s door opened.
“I knew my opportunity was going to come and when it did I had to seize it,” McBride said, tears welling in his eyes and voice cracking. “I feel like that’s exactly what I did. I put the work in every day, I put the work in all the time, and to finally reap the rewards is …”
McBride had to pause before adding, “exciting.”
“Happy tears for sure,” he added.
His teammates responded in a big way. Kyler Murray was the first to reach out, FaceTiming his top receiving target. McBride talked to James Conner and Budda Baker among others; Darius Robinson watched his Friday press conference from the back of the room.
“This is home, this is where I want to be,” McBride said. “I love this organization, I want to be here, I want to be a Cardinal and I want to win here.”
Most of that is taken care of with the contract and the five seasons it now encompasses. And yes, it was emotional and yes, it made the 25-year-old’s bank account grow to historic proportions. Yet when McBride is asked about what is now next for him, the idea of big money quickly is dismissed.
“This isn’t why you play,” McBride said. “You play to win, and that’s the next thing for me, I want to win. We are on the warpath to win.
“Everything is trending in the right direction.”
Even, apparently, McBride’s golf game – handy when you’ve committed to live in Arizona the next five years.
