The Cardinals secured their quarterback placeholder.
Jacoby Brissett and the team worked out a restructured one-year contract worth $15.5 million guaranteed, ESPN reported, after the journeyman quarterback sat out 11-on-11 drills during the first few days of training camp. Brissett could play his way to $21 million by reaching incentives.
Brissett sought a raise from the $4.8 million salary he was due on the second year of a two-year deal that he originally signed to be Kyler Murray’s backup. But Brissett took over for an injured Murray last season — and went 1-11 in 12 starts — and wanted to be paid more in line with other starting quarterbacks now that Murray has been released and is in Minnesota.
There likely is no world in which the 33-year-old Brissett is more than a stopgap for the Cardinals. He could be replaced by fellow journeyman Gardner Minshew or rookie Carson Beck at any time this season, and the Cardinals almost certainly will be the first-round quarterback market if the vaunted draft class of 2027 pans out.
Brissett is 20-45 in his career as a starter.
But the Cardinals are building a young core of offense playmakers around two-time Pro Bowl tight end Trey McBride — who just offered a mea culpa to an angry fan base — and rookie running back Jeremiyah Love.
Brissett’s average annual salary now ranks No. 19 among quarterbacks — just ahead of rookie No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza (Raiders) and other quarterbacks who still are playing on rookie deals.
Because the Cardinals face the Panthers in the Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 6 to open preseason football, their training camp opened last Wednesday.
The next major quarterback contract dispute in need of settling is between the Buccaneers and Baker Mayfield, with the Ravens and Lamar Jackson looming in the background.
