Cardinals avoid more drama heading into mandatory minicamp thanks to Jacoby Brissett’s latest decision that shows he’s a true pro
Jacoby Brissett skipped all of the Cardinals OTAs over the last few weeks as he seeks a new deal. He’s going to show up for mandatory minicamp, however, which is an important development.
Contract negotiations are never fun, especially whenever they bleed onto the football field.
That’s been the case for Jacoby Brissett and the Arizona Cardinals over the last few weeks. Brissett skipped all of the Cardinals’ voluntary OTAs in order to send a message to the front office about his desire for a new deal. Brissett is in line to be the starting quarterback for the 2026 season and he believes his $5 million-ish salary doesn’t justify the position he’s in.
Well, Jacoby Brissett is hitting the pause button, for now. Per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Brissett plans on attending Cardinals mandatory minicamp this week.
Jacoby Brissett avoids fines and shows Cardinals he cares
Brissett didn’t have to do this. The guy has made nearly $70 million over the course of his NFL career, therefore, he could “afford” the $107,911 in fines for missing all of mandatory minicamp.
Sure, that’s a big loss no matter who you are, but it remains a pill Jacoby Brissett could swallow.
There’s definitely two sides to the coin, here. I mean, we watched Terry McLaurin no-show during Washington Commanders mandatory minicamp as he fought for a new deal in 2025. He skipped the entire camp during a very important offseason where the team was trying to build upon its previous trip to the NFC Championship game.
Obviously, that’s nowhere near the case for the Cardinals in terms of last year’s success. At the same time though, it’s an important development because this is where players start to build a rapport with each other, as well as timing and chemistry.
It shows he still has the team’s best interests at heart and he’s not fighting for a new deal simply because.
There’s another layer to the decision, as well, and it comes in the form of rookie QB Carson Beck.
Many people believe the team should just go ahead and play Beck in 2026, mostly because they project the Cardinals to be a bottom-5 team in 2026. Therefore, if Beck sinks, they’ll be in position to draft their QB of the future in 2027. If he swims, well, the Cardinals may just have their guy.
Beck has been at all the OTAs and while no one is saying he’s the frontrunner – he does have a head start on Brissett in Mike LaFleur’s new offense.
Attending minicamp will right that ship and get Brissett back in the fold. We’ll see if he ends up “holding in” during training camp or outright participating. Either way, showing up for minicamp is the right call.