The Arizona Cardinals have signed tight end Elijah Higgins to a three-year extension worth up to $26.8 million, keeping him under contract through the 2029 season, according to a joint report from ESPN and NFL Network. The deal makes Higgins the 20th-highest paid tight end in the league by average annual value. It is not a contract for Trey McBride, the team's top tight end, who signed a four-year, $76 million deal in 2025.
Higgins was a sixth-round pick in 2023 and was waived by the Dolphins at roster cuts as a rookie before the Cardinals claimed him, and he has been with the club since. Over 54 career games, including 23 starts, he has 82 catches for 798 yards and four touchdowns. He has primarily served as the No. 2 blocking tight end alongside the more receiving-oriented McBride, playing between 26% and 42% of offensive snaps in his four seasons, and sitting at 41% this year, according to Pro-Football-Reference. In 2026 he has 18 receptions for 162 yards and a touchdown across nine games.S1S2
The extension comes as Arizona's receiving corps has been hit hard by injuries. Wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. was traded earlier this year, and No. 1 receiver Michael Wilson, No. 3 Kendrick Bourne and No. 4 Jalen Brooks have all suffered season-ending injuries in recent weeks. The Cardinals are left with Simi Fehoko, Reggie Virgil, Devin Duvernay and Harrison Wallace III, unless they add players from the practice squad or in free agency, which makes a larger role for Higgins likely as the team leans into multi-tight end sets.S1
Arizona was already heavily reliant on its tight ends. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, the Cardinals have run the third-highest rate of 13 personnel this season at 26.5% of offensive plays, have the second-most targets to tight ends in the league with 119 behind only Las Vegas, and rank fourth in tight end pass success rate at 61.3%. The offense is also in flux at quarterback, with rookie Carson Beck now the starter for the rest of the year after Jacoby Brissett was benched and then traded and Gardner Minshew suffered a season-ending injury last week. Higgins is expected to be one of Beck's key targets alongside McBride over the stretch run.S1
