McBride played every bit of his role, and Brooks got a bigger one vs. the Rams

Trey McBride set an unusual usage mark with 70 snaps, while Jalen Brooks saw a larger offensive workload after Marvin Harrison Jr. exited the equation for Arizona.

By The Apex Times Newsroom2 min readAI-assisted Apex article

The Cardinals did not ease Trey McBride’s workload against the Rams, deploying their All-Pro tight end for 70 of 72 offensive snaps, a 97 percent rate that was his season-high and matched the second-highest total of his career.

Arizona still leaned on McBride as the weekly anchor, but Sunday’s involvement topped his usual pattern, with the last time he had been used this heavily coming in the opener in New Orleans last year.

Jalen Brooks’ role changed in tandem with the offense’s personnel situation. The team’s regular plan shifted, and Brooks played 38 snaps, accounting for 53 percent of Arizona’s offensive plays, a usage level the team had seen for the second straight week and had not put together in consecutive games since 2024 with the Cowboys.

The snap distribution also reflected other playing-time movement. With Jeremiyah Love out, Tyler Allgeier logged 40 snaps, and Bam Knight’s offensive snaps rose to 32 after limited work earlier in the season; the team noted his playing time was likely constrained by cramps.

Arizona’s tight end and TE-adjacent workload was shared across multiple names. Elijah Higgins played at least 30 snaps for the third time in four games, while Teagan Quitoriano reached 30 snaps for a second straight game and the most he has played in consecutive contests since 2022 at Houston.

Defensively, Josh Sweat continued to ramp with a season-high 46 snaps, while Jordan Burch and Roy Lopez were on the other end of the snap-chart changes, with both seeing career-low or season-low usage.

Why It Matters

McBride’s snap load underscores that Arizona’s passing game continues to run through its tight end, even when the rest of the skill positions rotate.
Brooks’ higher percentage of offensive plays suggests the team’s target distribution is rebalancing, which can affect how defenses plan coverage responsibilities.
The added work for Allgeier and Knight with Love out shows Arizona’s depth usage is not theoretical, which can matter for consistency if injuries hit other roles.
Shared tight end work among multiple players may help keep defenses off balance, especially in the red-zone where personnel groupings can change quickly.

Sources

Key Facts

Trey McBride played 70 of 72 offensive snaps (97 percent) vs. the Rams, his season-high and tied for the second-highest total of his career.
McBride’s last game with this amount of work came in the opener at New Orleans last year.
Jalen Brooks played 38 snaps and 53 percent of Arizona’s offensive plays vs. the Rams, matching the team’s second straight week with that level of involvement.
With Jeremiyah Love out, Tyler Allgeier played 40 snaps, and Bam Knight played 32, with cramps cited as a likely limiter.
Elijah Higgins logged at least 30 snaps for the third time in four games, while Teagan Quitoriano played 30 snaps for a second straight game.