Arizona Cardinals News & Rumors

The Cardinals signed Gardner Minshew and drafted Carson Beck in the third round, but the team still views Jacoby Brissett as its starter. Contract negotiations are ongoing, but they aren’t in a great place.

Brissett and the Cardinals are “significantly” apart on terms as the sides discuss a reworked deal, ESPN.com’s Josh Weinfuss reports. Brissett, Arizona’s primary 2025 starter, is tied to a two-year deal worth $12.5MM. Just $1.5MM guaranteed remains on that pact, however. That number trails projected backup Minshew’s $5.14MM guarantee at signing.

As Cardinals OTAs began this week, Brissett has been absent with negotiations ongoing. The journeyman passer has been seeking a starter-level extension. While Brissett is tied to backup money — after he signed to be the 2025 Cards’ QB2 behind Kyler Murray — Arizona is in a clear transitional phase. Brissett is prepared to miss more OTA time during these talks, according to ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler.

The Cardinals will likely be connected to the 2027 quarterback class in the near future, and Brissett and Minshew are in place as bridges. The Beck pick is unlikely to stop the Cardinals from a high-stakes QB research project before the 2027 draft, but it stands to reason Mike LaFleur‘s team will want to see the Miami prospect in action as a rookie to gather more information.

Trading either Brissett or Minshew before the deadline would make sense, as the Cardinals may not need two veteran bridge options this season. As PFR’s Ely Allen noted recently, Beck was viewed by some evaluators as this draft class’ most pro-ready QB prospect. He will turn 25 before season’s end. With Minshew signing with the Cardinals after LaFleur’s hire, Brissett could well become the team’s preferred trade chip. But tepid interest has emerged thus far.

Brissett, 33, has not been tied to a deal worth more than $8MM per year since his Colts tenure ended in 2021. He has since played for five teams, with the Cardinals the only club authorizing a two-year pact in that span. Brissett played with the Colts from 2017-20, yoyoing between the starter and backup levels, but stopped through Miami, Cleveland, Washington and New England between 2021-24. He started 12 games last year, after Murray went down with an injury, and went 1-11 in those starts. Brissett did sport a 23:8 TD-INT ratio and finish with a career-best 64.9% completion rate, and his camp will surely emphasize these points in this renegotiation.

For now, the Cardinals have Minshew and Beck taking reps in the voluntary portion of their offseason program. While Arizona OTAs will continue past this week, the next notable chapter here may be mandatory minicamp in June. Brissett may be costing himself by not taking reps in LaFleur’s offense before that point, but for the time being, he is viewed as the Cardinals’ starter. Team and player, however, have differing views on how much that should cost in 2026.

Jacoby Brissett continues to sit out OTAs as he pursues a new contract. The quarterback’s apparent dissatisfaction with his deal (along with the Cardinals’ selection of Carson Beck) has led some pundits to assume that a trade is inevitable.

[RELATED: Jacoby Brissett Absent For Start Of Cardinals’ OTAs]

That hypothetical trade probably won’t come to fruition, at least for the time being. Jason La Canfora of SportsBoom.com writes that “there isn’t much of a trade market” for Brissett.

Further, one anonymous GM who was shopping for QB reinforcement was skeptical that the veteran was ever on the trade block. If anything, that executive believes the Cardinals are willing to keep Brissett into the regular season and wait until a QB-needy team is willing to make a desperate trade. La Canfora also notes that some league executives are skeptical that Brissett can continue his play into the 2026 campaign. So even when the inevitable crop of injuries do pop up, the market may not be as robust as the Cardinals are hoping.

If that’s truly the Cardinals plan, then the front office will still have to navigate Brissett’s current discontent. The 33-year-old inked a two-year, $12.5MM contract with Arizona last offseason, and he’s currently attached to $5.4MM in earnings for the 2026 campaign.

That’s obviously an affordable arrangement for the franchise, especially since they plan for Brissett to be their QB1 entering the season. Initially signed to serve as Kyler Murray‘s backup, Brissett ended up starting 12 games for the Cardinals in 2025. While the team only went 1-11 in those appearances, the journeyman put up some of the best numbers of his career. He finished the campaign having completed 64.9 percent of his passes while establishing career-highs in passing yards (3,366) and passing touchdowns (23).

Despite his production last season, it’s not like the rebuilding Cardinals have a desperate need to keep Brissett around. As mentioned, the team used a third-round selection on Beck, and there’s a good chance the Miami product sees the field at some point during his rookie season. The Cardinals also brought in Gardner Minshew following their failed pursuit of Jimmy Garoppolo, so there’s another QB who can keep the seat warm until Beck is deemed ready to play.

The Cardinals signed Gardner Minshew, after Jimmy Garoppolo talks hit a snag, but are believed to view Jacoby Brissett as their starter. But the team’s primary 2025 starter is seeking a raise.

As a result of the contract issue, Brissett has not joined his Cardinals teammates at their first OTA workout. The quarterback is staying away for the time being, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. Brissett is tied to a two-year, $12.5MM deal that brings a $4.88MM 2026 base salary.

Closely linked to Ty Simpson in the draft, the Cardinals saw the Rams outflank them for the Alabama product. The Rams viewed their division rivals as a threat for the one-year college starter, and after Los Angeles made the move to draft him at No. 13 overall, the Cardinals waited on a quarterback move. It is obviously not certain Arizona would have traded back into Round 1 for Simpson, but after the team saw the Rams intervene, Carson Beck became the rookie QB investment at No. 65 overall.

Beck accompanies the veteran arms here, as the Cardinals will almost definitely be linked to the 2027 QB draft class — a crop expected to bring better depth compared to this year’s — but they have Brissett and Minshew in place as stopgaps. Beck may be given the keys this season, as it would stand to reason the Cards will want to know how the recent CFP championship game starter looks in game action, but Mike LaFleur appears prepared to open the season with Brissett at the controls.

We heard before the draft Brissett was seeking a starter-level extension. It would make sense for the Cardinals to have one of their veteran arms under contract for 2027, as another bridge setup may need to be in place if the franchise drafts a first-rounder next year. Minshew is on a one-year, $5.75MM pact. That contract came nearly fully guaranteed. Brissett, 33, has just $1.5MM in guaranteed 2026 salary; that figure vested in March.

Brissett (65 career starts) is tied to backup money, but he has been largely viewed as such throughout his career. Brissett’s most notable work came in two separate stints replacing Andrew Luck. Acquired from the Patriots just before the 2017 season, Brissett started 15 Colts games as Luck missed the season with a shoulder injury. After the franchise QB’s sudden 2019 retirement, Brissett stepped back in as Indianapolis’ starter. His other notable starter stint came in 2022, when he was the Browns’ Deshaun Watson stopgap. Brissett reunited with ex-Browns QBs coach Drew Petzing last year, signing with a Cardinals team featuring Petzing as the play-caller. Arizona’s coaching change leaves his status murkier, and trade noise has emerged in the wake of the contract demand.

Minshew’s presence — and the general lack of expectations surrounding this Cardinals team — would stand to keep Brissett’s price point reasonable. Although the 2025 Giants showed two stopgap veterans (Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston) can stay on a team with a rookie QB investment, the Cardinals could certainly get by with just Minshew accompanying Beck.

This Cards regime has traded a bridge starter in the past, unloading Josh Dobbs (to the Vikings) at the 2023 deadline — as Kyler Murray finished off his ACL rehab. With Minshew signing to play in LaFleur’s offense, Brissett’s name will be one to watch in the coming weeks and months. GM Monti Ossenfort trading Dobbs weeks after acquiring him in a deal does keep the door open to Minshew being a trade candidate as well, but Brissett’s contract situation represents a key variable here. For the time being, it is keeping him off the field as the Cardinals learn LaFleur’s offense.