Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray assured tight end Trey McBride that his season-long receiving touchdown drought will come to an end soon.
"85 will touch the endzone soon, I promise," Murray wrote on his Instagram.
McBride recovered a fumble for a touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 2 and recorded a rushing touchdown against the Chicago Bears in Week 9, but has yet to register a touchdown catch this season despite leading the Cardinals with 938 receiving yards through 13 games.
He missed one game with a concussion but still heads into Week 15 ranked sixth in the NFL with 89 catches.
That marks the most receptions recorded without marking a receiving touchdown in NFL history, according to ESPN's Field Yates.
This isn't the first time Murray has addressed McBride's lack of touchdowns despite his high usage. The Cardinals quarterback said ahead of Week 14 that the tight end's zero receiving touchdowns were a "weird stat, 'cause he's going crazy."
"I think we've had a couple opportunities, haven't connected, but no, that's definitely going to happen soon," Murray said on Dec. 4.
McBride said the same day that he was confident the drought would end soon.
"Whatever it is, we're going to get one soon, and they are going to come in bunches," McBride said ahead of Week 14, per team reporter Darren Urban. "I'm going to have three, four, five, six when I catch one. It's going to be great."
McBride has received 24 targets and totaled 157 receiving yards in the two games since that comment, but still has yet to make it to the end zone.
Head coach Jonathan Gannon praised McBride as a "playmaker" after he made nine catches, including a reception on the one-yard line, for 87 yards during Sunday's Week 15 win over the New England Patriots.
"I'm really proud of him with his maturation of when things don't go exactly your way, he sticks with it, stays positive and impacts the game in a positive way," Gannon said.
Given the increasing focus on the tight end's drought, it seems likely Murray and Gannon will look to get McBride even more red-zone targets during next Sunday's road game against the Carolina Panthers.
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