The Arizona Cardinals just finished up another round of Organized Team Activities (OTAs) at the Dignity Health Training Center in Tempe, Arizona. The coaching staff has overseen the sessions from May 18-19 & 21, and May 26-27 & 29.
The next round is set for June 1-2 & June 4, while the mandatory minicamp is from June 8-10.
RELATED: NFL.COM PREDICTS BRISSETT’S CONTRACT
In every session offered by the team, their starting quarterback, Jacoby Brissett, has failed to attend. The issue revolves around the idea
that he will be grossly underpaid for a starting QB in the National Football League.
Which is 100% the truth.
Brissett came to Arizona before the 2025 season and inked a two-year deal for $12.5 million for the sole purpose of being the backup to starter Kyler Murray. And he would retain all of it since he was his own agent. Almost the entirety of Brissett’s NFL career has been as the experienced backup. He even appeared on a national TV commercial where he subbed in for a husband’s wife who was having trouble figuring out their taxes. As Brissett enters the frame, a ribbon across the bottom states, “Backup Quarterback Jacoby Brissett.”
That was Brissett’s label in the league: a backup who can come in and do the job when called upon. His 53 starts gave the Cardinals plenty of experience if Murray were to go down. And after he came to the Cardinals, the idea was set in stone: Murray was the starter – Brissett was his backup.
Brissett was the right guy for the moment to be in a backup role.
His contract was pretty straightforward. He received a $3.5 million signing bonus (prorated over the two years) with a base salary in 2025 of $3 million and $4.88 million in his second year, with $8 million guaranteed. Brissett also had bonuses such as $50,000 a year for workouts completed, plus a $510,000 roster bonus each year. In 2026, he carries a cap hit of $9,190,000 and a dead cap value of $3,250,000.
And all of that was great for Brissett as he had to take second-team reps in practices and hold the clipboard on game days. Pretty easy paydays.
But then Murray went down in Week 5 against the Tennessee Titans and ended up on IR. As the losses mounted, the coaching staff decided not to push his return, and he never played another down. Brissett carried on with the offense and played well, and the offense moved, despite a 1-11-0 record. Individual players had banner years, such as TE Trey McBride and WR Michael Wilson. All of this occurred with third-string running backs and an offensive line that was often injured and played poorly.
The thought process was that once Mike LaFleur was hired as the new head coach, he would deal with the quarterback situation. He would either choose between Murray and Brissett as his starter going forward, or keep them and let them duke it out in training camp.
With financial markers approaching, the franchise released Murray. Shortly thereafter, Brissett was named the starter for 2026.
And now, Brissett isn’t happy with making $4.88 million as the team’s starting QB. If the season started today, he would become the league’s #30 highest-paid signal-caller. Four backups would make more money, and five QBs on their rookie deals.
Will Brissett show up for the mandatory camp coming up from June 8-10? That will tell all of us what is really going on. If he does, that means he is either settling his situation or the negotiations are ongoing. If he is a “no-show,” he is officially a holdout.
Currently, instead of the Arizona media discussing this new offense, his impending holdout is the lead conversation on every sports radio show and podcast. The talk was both pro and con about Brissett not participating.
Understand this: the Cardinals own his football rights. They possess a valid contract with him in which he has one year remaining that will pay him for this upcoming season. Arizona GM Monti Ossenfort has no reason to re-do Brissett’s contract other than to appease the athlete.
If the Cardinals had kept Murray and the issue of who would become the starter had been dealt with in training camp, would we be having this conversation? Would Brissett be holding out? Or working hard to impress this new coaching staff?
Yes, Brissett played better in 12 games than Murray did in five. But the team lost 11 of those 12 contests. Individual stats are nice when the Pro Bowl voters are circling, but the bottom line is that this is a team sport, and not won by one guy. Teams play to win games.
Nobody seems to know the number that Brissett has in mind going forward. Aaron Rodgers signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers for $22.5 million on a one-year deal. It is assumed that Brissett would like another year added to the deal, along with the new digits.
And for a starting quarterback that has 10 years of experience, that number for Brissett would seem ideal for the player and the franchise.
He ranked #14 overall in the league last year, which was just a 12-game sampling. He was ranked higher than Rodgers, Jalen Hurts, Lamar Jackson, C.J. Stroud, Brock Purdy, Joe Burrow, and Jayden Daniels, to name a few.
And it’s not like he hasn’t been named the starter before. When Cleveland Browns starting QB Deshaun Watson was serving an 11-game suspension to begin the 2023 season, it was Brissett who was called upon to hold down the fort. In 2017, he was named the starter for the Indianapolis Colts, and the fanbase bought into him. He had two seasons as their starter. In 2024, the New England Patriots named him their starter for Week 1 over rookie Drake Maye before being benched after five games.
Let’s look at Brissett’s 2025 stats: 315 completions on 485 attempts for 3,366 yards, 23 touchdowns, 8 interceptions, a 64.9% completion ratio, 165 first down passing conversions, 41.2 QB rating, sacked 43 times, 0 fourth quarter comebacks, 25 throw-away passes, 4 passes batted, 11 passes dropped, 81 poor throws, and 73.2% on target passes. He rushed 38 times for 168 yards and an additional score. His fantasy numbers generated 227 points.
Is Brissett one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks? Well, he isn’t elite like Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, and Lamar Jackson. He isn’t exceptional in the vein of Joe Burrow, Matt Stafford, Aaron Rodgers, Justin Herbert, and Dak Prescott.
What’s the opinion then? Very good? Good? Above average?
LINK: BRISSETT SETS NEW NFL RECORD
Brissett’s high point was the 452-yard outing he had against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 11, a 41-22 loss. He also had three 300-yard games and two more that were closing in on that number. His 12-game average was 280.5 yards per contest, which is pretty dad gum good.
Remember, he set the NFL record against the Niners by tossing 47 completions, the most in an NFL regular-season game. That bested the old mark of 45 completions set by Drew Bledsoe in 1994 and later tied by Jared Goff in 2019.
So, Brissett has some elite qualities. Also, consider he will turn 34 years old this season, so there’s that.
Here’s a thought: What if Brissett is hell-bent on getting his raise, and Ossenfort tells him no thank you, you already have a valid deal in place. What then?
We are not talking about whether Josh Allen was the Cardinals’ starter, and there was an impasse. It’s Jacoby Brissett – backup quarterback. Is Ossenfort really going to sweat this thing out?
The team does have veteran Gardner Minshew, who has been to everything the Cardinals have offered and has been in meetings and practice sessions. Could rookie Carson Beck vault to the head of the line during his first training camp? He was a third-round draft pick, which is the same round that Joe Montana was selected, so it’s possible.
Also consider the precedent that Ossenfort would be creating. If another player has a single outstanding season, is he then qualified to want a significant bump in pay? Remember, Brissett got his.
Or maybe, just maybe, what if Ossenfort just signed somebody else?
Russell Wilson’s value is $10.5 million per season and still remains available. Ossenfort could sign him, and maybe save some coin over what Brissett wants.
Jimmy Garaoppolo is still available at $3.5 million. If he had signed with the Cardinals like they wanted before Minshew came aboard, this just might be Jimmy G’s team anyway.
Another name to consider is Cooper Rush, who at one time was the darling of the Dallas Cowboys. His value is just $3.1 million.
Presumably, the next step is the mandatory camp coming up from June 8-10. If Brissett shows up for that, all of this is probably moot. But if he continues to hold out with the idea that he won’t be playing for what his contract is giving him currently, then Ossenfort and LaFleur will have to come to a hard decision.
Right quick.
