Cardinals Lock In Tight End Elijah Higgins Through 2029
A three-year, $26.8 million deal secures Higgins' future as Arizona navigates a depleted receiver room.
By Bianca Shevchenko ·
The Arizona Cardinals have agreed to a new contract with tight end Elijah Higgins.
The three-year deal is worth $26.8 million and keeps Higgins in Arizona through the 2029 season, according to reports from ESPN and NFL Media. This makes Higgins the 20th-highest paid tight end in the league by average annual value.
Combined with the four-year, $76 million deal signed by star tight end Trey McBride in 2025, Arizona becomes the only NFL team with more than $100 million in total contract value committed to its top two tight ends.
Higgins has served primarily as a blocking tight end for the first four years of his career. Pro-Football-Reference data shows he has played between 26% and 42% of offensive snaps during that period, with his share standing at 41% this season. His career stats include 82 catches for 798 yards and four touchdowns. In 2026, he has recorded 18 receptions for 162 yards and one score.
The timing of the extension comes as the Cardinals face a sharp drop in receiver depth. The team traded Marvin Harrison Jr. earlier this year. Since then, Michael Wilson, Kendrick Bourne, and Jalen Brooks have all suffered season-ending injuries. This leaves Simi Fehoko, Reggie Virgil, Devin Duvernay, and Harrison Wallace III as the primary wide receivers for the rest of the season.
Arizona already relied heavily on tight ends before these injuries. NFL Next Gen Stats indicate the team ran 13 personnel on 26.5% of offensive plays, the third-highest rate in the league. They also ranked second in the NFL with 119 targets to tight ends, trailing only Las Vegas. Their success rate on passes to tight ends stands at 61.3%, ranking fourth in the league.
Rookie quarterback Carson Beck has taken over as the starter after Jacoby Brissett was benched and traded, and after Gardner Minshew suffered a season-ending injury last week. With Beck under center and the receiver group thinned out, Higgins is positioned to become a key target alongside McBride for the remainder of the year.
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