Broncos have checked in on tight ends before trade deadline — including Trey McBride: Report

Could it be a tight end that the Broncos could actually land at the trade deadline?

It might be — but it won’t be Arizona’s Trey McBride, the NFL’s leader in receptions heading into Week 9 with 66 as he sails on pace for his third-consecutive season of at least 110 receptions and 1,100 yards.

The Broncos inquired with the Arizona Cardinals about McBride, according to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, but were rebuffed.

That likely disappointed Broncos coach Sean Payton, who has expressed plenty of respect for McBride’s talent and skill set. After the game, Payton was captured by NFL Films and microphones praising McBride during the post-game handshakes.

Sean Payton and Trey McBride after the game:

“I’ve had some good joker tight ends and you’re certainly one of them”

Bring him home pic.twitter.com/mVKZ6WeYOz

— Romi Bean (@Romi_Bean) October 27, 2026

“I’ve had some good ‘Joker’ tight ends, and you’re certainly one of them,” Payton said, uttering the term he’s often used to describe dynamic pass-catching tight ends and running backs within his offense, particularly in the middle of the field.

McBride isn’t available, but there could be other options.

One of them might be Philadelphia’s Dallas Goedert, who appears to be a more viable trade target. The nine-year veteran has 258 yards and two scores on 26 receptions, and for his career has averaged 736 yards per 17 games. With the Eagles in retooling mode and an expiring contract — although the Eagles still have four void years on it — he would make sense, and likely could be had for a mid-round pick.

Goedert was considered a cut candidate last March, but returned to the Eagles on a restructured one-year, $10-million deal.

PASS-CATCHING NUMBERS HAVE LAGGED FROM BRONCOS TIGHT ENDS

Since Payton became the Broncos’ head coach, the team has struggled to find productive pass-catching threats at the position.

Evan Engram, a free-agent pickup last year, was supposed to help provide that, but results were mixed for him in his first season, although the team’s pass-catching production from the position as a group did increase last year.

This season has been another matter entirely. Although the position group has four touchdowns so far this season — three from the versatile Nate Adkins, who is utilized more often as a blocker — Adkins, Engram and Adam Trautman have combined for 220 yards on 23 receptions through eight games.

For the sake of comparison, there are 24 tight ends elsewhere in the league who have more receiving yardage individually than the Broncos’ entire tight-end room.

One of them is Greg Dulcich, the 2022 Broncos third-round pick who is now with the Miami Dolphins. The Broncos waived Dulcich in November 2024, but he’s since caught in with Miami — and remained healthy, something that was a challenge for him in Denver due to a foot injury and a chronic hamstring problem.

You must go back to 2021 to find the last season when a Broncos tight end had at least 500 receiving yards. Noah Fant, their first-round choice in 2019, reached that level in all three of his seasons with the club before being dealt to Seattle in the Russell Wilson trade of March 2022.

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