Reminder! The Cardinals exist and Jacoby Brissett might be their quarterback (Russell Wilson?)
Pacific Northwest Teams are easy to forget until they start winning, and even then, they quickly get forgotten again. Even coming off of a Super Bowl win, the 49ers and Rams have gotten significantly more offseason coverage than the Seahawks. Amongst my self pity, that I secretly love, I am forced to admit a revelation - the other team in the NFC West is forgotten about way more.
Jacoby Brissett and the Arizona Cardinals are currently in a contract dispute that’s already involved the quarterback missing non-mandatory offseason workouts, and national media has barely scratched the topic. I just typed “Jacoby Brissett” into Google News, and here are the reports in order:
Arizona Sports: Are Cardinals sending Jacoby Brissett a message with Carson Beck addition? (3 hours ago)
NJ: NFL GM believes 2025 starting QB will be dealt before trade deadline (4 hours ago)
The Palm Beach Post: Carson Beck, Jacoby Brissett make Florida QB room for Cardinals (2 days ago)
Am I the only one that finds it funny that the top three outlets to cover Jacoby Brissett are local news sites, and only one of them is Arizona related?
Cardinals fans, this 12 has your back! (Until the season rolls around. Then my bird is better than your bird.)
Entering the final year of his contract, Jacoby Brissett and the Cardinals have yet to reach terms on a new deal. Reportedly Brissett is looking for more guaranteed money. He only has $1.5 Million guaranteed in 2026, which is less than the $5.14 Million the team guaranteed Gardner Minshew on the 1-year-deal he signed this offseason. It remains to be seen what the Cardinals will guarantee to 3rd round selection Carson Beck.
The trouble for Brissett is that he doesn’t have any leverage. He’s not the long-term solution for the Cardinals. He’s not leaps and bounds better than Gardner Minshew, if he even is better. Hell, he might not be better than rookie Carson Beck. Brissett could be the third best quarterback on the roster by Week 1.
Making matters worse, cutting him saves the team $5.94 Million against the salary cap. Frankly, the Cardinals might be better off letting him go and pursuing a free agent like Jimmy Garoppolo or Russell Wilson. Garoppolo and Wilson combine for three Super Bowl starts and have significantly more starting experience to offer Carson Beck than Brissett does. If the plan is to develop Beck into the eventual franchise quarterback, who better to learn from than a 10 time pro bowler? Or even Jimmy Garoppolo.
If I were the 34-year-old Jacoby Brissett, I’d commit to playing as hard as I can this season as a 1-year-audition to the rest of the league. Then maybe Brissett can play next year as either a bridge or veteran backup. Otherwise this contract dispute could be the end of his career.
Well, there it is. Your reminder that the Cardinals do exist, and their quarterback question marks are just as good as anyone else’s quarterback question marks.
