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.
I can see things from both sides of this disagreement.
Brissett’s legit critiicsm of Arizona is that he played as the starter last season, is slotted as the starter this season, and deserves to be making more than journeyman backup QB rates.
Whereas Arizona’s legit criticism of Brissett is that he’s Jacoby Brissett.
Brissett has gotta recognize the only chance he’s ever gonna get to be the chosen starter is on a dumpster fire team like Arizona’s. But Arizona should just suck it up and bump up the man’s salary for the coming year. I bet even a modest gesture by the team would get Brissett back in camp.