Cardinals Reportedly Sign TE Elijah Higgins to Three-Year Extension

The Arizona Cardinals are making a long-term commitment to another one of their tight ends. This time it is not star Trey McBride, who inked a four-year, $76 million deal back in 2025. Instead, No. 2 tight end Elijah Higgins will sign a three-year, $26.8 million extension that keeps him in Arizona through the 2029 season, according to ESPN and NFL Media.

By average annual value, the new contract makes Higgins the 20th-highest paid tight end in the league. Combined with McBride's deal, Arizona would be the only team in the NFL with more than $100 million in total contract value committed to its top two tight ends since 2025.

Higgins has spent his first four seasons primarily as a blocking tight end alongside the more receiving-oriented McBride. According to Pro-Football-Reference, he has played between 26% and 42% of the team's offensive snaps during that span, and he sits at 41% so far this year. His career totals stand at 82 catches for 798 yards and four touchdowns, including 18 receptions for 162 yards and one score in 2026.

The timing of the extension is notable because Higgins could soon take on a much larger role. Arizona's wide receiver corps has been hit hard, beginning with the trade of No. 2 wideout Marvin Harrison Jr. earlier this year. In recent weeks, No. 1 Michael Wilson, No. 3 Kendrick Bourne and No. 4 Jalen Brooks have each gone down with season-ending injuries.

That leaves the Cardinals with Simi Fehoko, Reggie Virgil, Devin Duvernay and Harrison Wallace III at receiver for the remainder of the season, barring a practice squad promotion or a free agent addition. As a result, Arizona figures to lean even more heavily on multi-tight end formations, putting Higgins on the field far more often down the stretch.

The Cardinals were already one of the most tight end-dependent offenses in football before the injuries mounted. Per NFL Next Gen Stats, Arizona has run 13 personnel at the third-highest rate in the league this season, using it on 26.5% of all offensive plays. The team also ranks second in the NFL with 119 targets to tight ends, trailing only Las Vegas, and owns the fourth-highest success rate on passes to tight ends at 61.3%, behind only the Bills, Patriots and Vikings.

There is also a new quarterback in the picture. Rookie Carson Beck has taken over as Arizona's starter for the rest of the year after Jacoby Brissett was benched and then traded, and after Gardner Minshew suffered a season-ending injury last week.

With Beck under center and the receiver depth chart thinned out, Higgins has a clear opportunity to emerge as one of the rookie's more important targets alongside McBride as Arizona plays out the remainder of the season.