The Cardinals will have a new tight end on the roster when they report to training camp this summer.
Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports that they are signing Kenny Yeboah to their 90-man roster. The veteran tried out for the Chiefs at their minicamp this week, but he will head to Arizona rather than stick around Kansas City.
Yeboah spent four seasons with the Jets before joining the Lions last year. He went on injured reserve in August and did not play in any games during the regular season.
Yeboah had nine catches for 111 yards and a touchdown in 33 appearances for the Jets.
The Cardinals wrapped up their offseason program on Wednesday with a significant blank spot on their depth chart.
No one has been anointed as the team’s starting quarterback heading into training camp. The expectation for most of the offseason has been that Jacoby Brissett will hold that job, but he skipped the voluntary portion of the team’s program as he looks for a contract that reflects that standing. Brissett avoided a fine by showing up to this week’s mandatory minicamp, but didn’t practice.
Gardner Minshew handled first-team work with third-round pick Carson Beck and Kedon Slovis also on hand, but head coach Mike LaFleur said he’s not interested in making any pronouncements for Week 1 at this point.
“I’m not really concerned about QB1 right now,” LaFleur said, via the team’s website. “I’m concerned about these guys reporting. Really, I’m concerned about them for the next 40 days and what they are doing . . . you can’t take steps backwards, and that’s not just the quarterbacks. That’s all these guys.”
LaFleur said the team will continue conversations with Brissett and having him as a full participant when camp opens would be a good step toward establishing the pecking order in Arizona.
The Cardinals received “great news” on cornerback Garrett Williams’ recovery from a torn Achilles.
“When I first got here . . . it was like an October/November [return], and now we’re talking about getting into training camp and getting him going,” Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur said, via Darren Urban of the team website. “He’s put so much good work in. What a special human being he is, and what a really good player this defense was missing last year when he went down.”
Williams tore the Achilles in a Week 16 game against the Falcons, leaving uncertainty about how much of the 2026 season he would play.
But LaFleur said “for sure” Williams has a chance to play Week 1.
Running backs James Conner and Trey Benson, tight end Tip Reiman and defensive lineman Walter Nolen III will return during training camp.
Cardinals rookie defensive lineman Kaleb Proctor is at some risk of missing the entire 2026 season.
Head coach Mike LaFleur said at a Wednesday press conference that Proctor tore his meniscus during offseason workouts and is looking at an extended absence as he works his way back to playing condition.
“He’ll miss quite a bit of time if not — I don’t want to say absolute — the whole year,” LaFleur said.
Proctor was a fourth-round pick in April after playing his college ball at Southeastern Louisiana. He had 43 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and nine sacks during the 2025 season.
LaFleur said some other players suffered minor injuries this spring, but none that should be issues when the team gets back together for training camp.
Last year, quarterback Jacoby Brissett signed a two-year, $12.5 million deal to serve as the backup to Kyler Murray. Brissett ended up starting 12 games.
This year, after a couple of months of uncertainty as to the projected top spot on the Arizona depth chart, it eventually became clear that Brissett will be the starter.
And that’s the root of Brissett’s effort to get a contract adjustment.
On Tuesday’s PFT Live, Devin McCourty (who played with Brissett in New England and still communicates with him) confirmed that, from Brissett’s perspective, it’s that simple. He arrived as a backup. He accepted a contract to be a backup. Now that the Cardinals have eased him — almost by default — into the starting role, he would like his deal to be adjusted.
It’s a fair point. And that doesn’t mean he wants to be paid at the high end of the scale. As veteran starters go, $20 million is the baseline.
And that’s a far cry from his current average of $6.25 million per year.
The question is whether the Cardinals will do anything about Brissett’s deal. They don’t have to. And holdouts have become very expensive for players, thanks to the daily fines for skipping training camp.
A hold-in is possible. But no one would benefit from that, especially since there’s a new coaching staff and a new offense in Arizona.
That could open the door for Gardner Minshew or Carson Beck to take the job. Which presumably would be fine with Brissett. He signed to be the backup. If he’s going to be the backup, his contract is fine. If he’s going to be the starter, he deserves a new deal.
