The drama in the dessert has subsided.
Quarterback Jacoby Brissett and the Arizona Cardinals have reached an agreement on a reworked deal that will increase his 2026 compensation to $15.5 million with a max value of $21 million, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported on Sunday.
Brissett, 33, skipped most of the team's offseason work, but reported for mandatory minicamp and on time for training camp. Heading into the second season of a two-year deal, Brissett was slated to make $4.88 million in base salary and has been seeking compensation more in line with other starting quarterbacks, which he's presumed to be for the Cardinals. Rookie head coach Mike LaFleur said Sunday that Brissett would start working with the team's starters on Tuesday.
While Brissett got what he wanted for 2026, this is not an extension, but a reworked deal and the veteran remains on schedule to be a free agent after the upcoming season.
aFleur has opined that Brissett and free-agent addition Gardner Minshew are both great fits for his offense, but a starting quarterback has not yet officially been named. Arizona also drafted Carson Beck.
Sunday's news and LaFleur's comments indicate Brissett will be QB1 to start the 2026 season.
He's coming off a 2025 season in which he threw a career-high 3,366 yards and 23 touchdowns in 14 games (12 starts). Brissett replaced an injured Kyler Murray last year and is now headed in the direction of succeeding him as the team's Week 1 starter.
Still, the resolution is a stop-gap as the Cardinals' quest for a franchise quarterback remains.
A prevailing storyline for the squad will be if the Cardinals struggle, just how long until Beck get a chance to show what he's got at the NFL level.
The 2027 NFL Draft is predicted to have a far more fruitful quarterback class than the 2026 class, so giving Beck some run would seem paramount before the franchise readdresses its future at the position.
In April, Rapoport reported that Brissett wasn't going to attend Phase 1 of the offseason program as he was seeking starting compensation. The stalemate has carried on since with Brissett ending his absence for mandatory minicamp. It still remains to be seen if or when Brissett will pick up LaFleur's offense, having missed plenty of offseason install.
The Cardinals are Brissett's sixth NFL team and he's made starts for five squads. LaFleur will be Brissett's ninth full-time head coach as the journeyman quarterback heads into his 11th season.
