It turns out the gap in negotiations between the Cardinals and Jacoby Brissett might be just as big as the distance between the worst team in the NFC West and the rest of its powerhouse division.
Brissett and the Cardinals are “significantly” far apart in discussions on reworking his contract, according to ESPN, now that he has gone from backup to starter in the wake of Kyler Murray’s departure to the Vikings.
Brissett has been skipping voluntary offseason training as leverage in his contract dispute. He could skip OTAs this week, too, before he would be subject to fines if he missed mandatory minicamp from June 8-10.
Brissett, whose current contract will pay him $4.8 million with incentives up to $5.39 million but only $1.5 million guaranteed, is not wrong that his contract is out of whack.
No other starter on at least his second contract is making less than the Raiders’ Kirk Cousins’ $11.3 million – and Cousins is merely a placeholder for No. 1 draft pick Fernando Mendoza and already one of the highest-paid players in NFL history. Not to mention that the Cardinals signed Gardner Minshew to a one-year, $5.75 million contract that includes $5.1 million guaranteed to be Brissett’s backup.
But Brissett might be overestimating the Cardinals’ commitment to winning in 2026 if he is asking for a big raise.
The Cardinals are expected to be one of the NFL’s worst teams under first-year head coach Mike LaFleur. That would put them in the running to draft Arch Manning, Dante Moore or one of the other elite college quarterback prospects expected to be available at the top of the 2027 draft.
And Minshew’s numbers as a fellow former starter turned journeyman backup (17-30 record with 68 touchdowns and 35 interceptions) are not that different than Brissett’s (20-45 record with 76 touchdowns and 32 interceptions).
The Cardinals also used a third-round pick on Carson Beck, who could audition to be the future of the franchise at some point as a rookie.
Mike LaFleur said earlier this week that discussions on Brissett’s deal were the “same as where we were a few weeks ago.”
Brissett was 1-11 with 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions last season for the Cardinals, who are in a tough spot with two games per year against the Seahawks, Rams and 49ers. All three teams went to the playoffs last season, and the Seahawks won the Super Bowl.