Brissett and Cards having ‘productive’ talks

Cardinals fans appear to be pining for the team to bench Jacoby Brissett and start the rookie in the coming weeks as another season circles the drain for Arizona. Beck so far has been the Cards’ emergency third quarterback. Urban said there remains a “chance Beck is made the backup this week or next and allow him to come on in relief if the situation presents itself. I don’t see Beck starting in the immediate future, but it does feel his time grows closer, and if the offense continues to sputter, that would be understandable.” Brissett this season ranks 15th in passing yards. He’s thrown nine touchdowns to five interceptions and ranks 30th out of 37 qualifying QBs in adjusted yards per attempt. He won’t be a viable fantasy play this week against a tough Rams coverage unit.

Brissett also rushed twice for 19 yards and nearly scored on a trick play via a seven-yard reception. He was stopped at the Lions’ two-yard line. Brissett guided the Cardinals to a 14-play scoring drive on their first possession, which he capped off with a two-yard touchdown strike to backup TE Teagan Quitoriano. The bottom dropped out after that. The Cardinals racked up five straight drives ending a punt, with Brissett only managing to break the dreary streak by throwing an interception. Brissett managed to salvage his box score with another Quitoriano score, and a juggling touchdown catch secured by Trey McBride. Brissett also coaxed a few big plays out of fellow backup TE Elijah Higgins. Apparently, the veteran quarterback is ready to target more towering pass catchers with Marvin Harrison Jr. now a Texan. Brissett is a borderline QB1/2 with a shaky floor in Week 6 against the Rams. Coach Mike LaFleur said post-game that he is not considering a quarterback change.

Brissett added four carries for 18 yards. Entering the proceedings with just one pick through three starts, Brissett tossed two in the first half before “adding” a walk-off pick-six on the game’s final play. Trailing 30-24, the Cardinals had a 4th-and-goal from the Giants’ four-yard line. Then a pressured Brissett threw it right to Deonte Banks after Michael Wilson cut off his route in the end zone. It was a brutal end to a brutal game, one where Brissett took a pair of sacks in addition to his giveaways. He did find the beleaguered Marvin Harrison Jr. for a 12-yard score against man-to-man coverage on the game’s opening drive, but that opening drive score went down as MHJ’s only reception. The duo did draw a late DPI to set up their ill-faded goal-line series. Averaging a miserable 4.7 yards per attempt on 115 throws over his past three starts, Brissett could get the Carson Beck chatter going in the desert sooner rather than later. That being said, the Lions are a plus Week 5 matchup.

Brissett and the Cardinals offense had difficulty navigating penalties and finishing drives in the first half, playing catch-up for much of the second half. The offense wore down the 49ers’ banged-up defensive line over time, with Brissett tossing a pair of touchdowns and sneaking in another from the one-yard line to bring the Cardinals close in the fourth quarter. Though he couldn’t complete the comeback, Brissett’s fantasy production with 52 passing attempts is a good sign for Cardinals pass-catchers moving forward. However, they won’t be in as much of a pass-happy game script against the Giants in Week 4; Brissett is a fantasy QB2 for next week.

Brissett practiced fully all week, despite the hip injury. Brissett is not quite hitting the peaks he produced last year and is too tough to trust in 12-team leagues. Consider him a QB2 against the 49ers this week.

Brissett seemingly dealt with an injury in the Cardinals’ Week 2 loss against the Seahawks, but played through it. He opens the week listed with a hip injury but was a full practice participant. Though Brissett seems to have a hip issue ailing him, it does not seem like it will keep him from playing. The veteran remains in the low-end QB2 conversation for Week 3 against the 49ers.

Brissett was seemingly dealing with some sort of thigh issue against the Seahawks. Between the Cardinals’ eighth and ninth drives, Brissett was seen briefly meeting with the training staff, who applied a heating pad to one of his legs. He tried walking after a while, but shook his head and took a seat on the bench until it was time for the Cardinals’ offense to retake the field. The veteran quarterback was constantly under pressure, though he only took two sacks. Brissett threw an interception via a bad overthrow on the Cardinals’ seventh drive, and later had a would-be interception dropped on the Cardinals’ eighth drive. The leg issue seemingly impacted his ability to drive the ball downfield, which could keep him as a mid-to-low QB2 against the 49ers in Week 3.

Brissett outperformed Justin Herbert in every statistical category in what proved to be an easy victory for the underdog Cardinals. Brissett continued attacking downfield in this one, connecting with Marvin Harrison, Jr. for a 33-yard gain and Trey McBride for a 28-yarder. Brissett narrowly missed Michael Wilson on a couple first half deep shots. Arizona took its foot off the gas in the fourth quarter with the Chargers offense clearly out of answers and unable to move the ball with Ladd McConkey (chest) sidelined. Brissett’s aggressive style and his highly talented group of pass catchers should make him viable as a streaming option in Week 2 against the Seahawks.

Fowler notes that the Cardinals likely want to see what they have in Carson Beck before the season ends. Of course, if the Cardinals are winning games, they will stick with what is working. Brissett put up strong counting stats last year, throwing for 281 yards per game across his 12 starts. That, however, did not result in any success for the Cardinals, who went 1-11 with Brissett under center. A similar season would make the veteran a viable backup or injury fill-in at that trade deadline.

This is unfortunate. Beck looked great before injuring his ribs in the Hall of Fame game. Per Urban, Beck has been a very limited participant in practice ever since, which is costing him valuable reps. Only starting QB Jacoby Brissett will take first-team practice reps once the regular season begins. Beck practiced the week after the injury, “struggling much of the time,” and has sat out since then. The Cardinals have an extremely difficult schedule, so a rough record could bring Beck back onto the field at some point this year. Ideally, he would have spent all of August refining his play, though. He does not need to be rostered in 12-team re-draft leagues.