Jacoby Brissett has not attended any of the Cardinals’ voluntary offseason program as he waits for a reworked contract for this season.
Josh Weinfuss of ESPN reports that Brissett and the Cardinals are “significantly” far apart in negotiations.
The quarterback is entering the second year of a two-year deal he signed in March 2025. He is scheduled to make $4.88 million in 2026, with a max value of $5.39 million, but only $1.5 million is guaranteed. Gardner Minshew, who was signed as a free agent in March, has $5.14 million guaranteed for this season.
Earlier this offseason, Weinfuss reported that the Cardinals informed Brissett he was their starting quarterback. But the Cardinals have a new head coach and a new offense, and it’s unclear to what extent Brissett’s absence will hurt him in the competition for the starting job.
Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur downplayed Brissett’s absence earlier this week, saying that Brissett has “done probably everything we’ve ever done schematically.”
Arizona will hold a mandatory minicamp on June 8-10, which will cost Brissett a fine of $107,911 if he misses all three days.
Brissett started 12 games for the Cardinals last season, completing 64.9 percent of his passes for 3,366 yards with 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions. The Cardinals went 1-11 in his starts.
Michael Wilson caught 85 passes for 1,113 yards and seven touchdowns over his first two seasons. The Cardinals wide receiver had 78 receptions for 1,006 yards and seven touchdowns last season.
It’s how he got there that makes becoming one of only 19 pass catches with 1,000 yards even more impressive.
Through the first five games, Wilson had eight catches for 52 yards and a touchdown. Jacoby Brissett replaced Kyler Murray in Week 6, and Marvin Harrison Jr. and Zay Jones went out with injuries in Week 11.
Wilson’s 593 routes for the season were the third-most in the NFL.
“If myself from February could have went back to myself in October and said, like, ‘Hey, man, you’re going to have a thousand,’” Wilson said, via Josh Weinfuss of ESPN, “I probably would have been like, ‘Jesus Christ. I don’t know what would have happened for me to get a thousand, but some pretty cool stuff would have had to happen.’
“And, so, yeah, I’m still proud of myself for that.”
Wilson is eligible for a contract extension, but he said it’s business as usual.
“I don’t want that to affect how I show up every single day because ultimately that stuff is going to take care of itself,” Wilson said. “What I did last year, I can’t change. Like, that’s my resume, that’s what we’re going off of.
“But as soon as Week 1 starts and we’re playing against [the] L.A. Chargers, contract stuff, that stuff doesn’t matter. What I did last year doesn’t matter. I need to make sure I’m taking care of what I can now, tomorrow, the next day after that. That’s going to help me sort of replicate that season and build upon that.”
Will Johnson won a national title and made All-America teams while wearing No. 2 at Michigan, but it wasn’t available when he joined the Cardinals as a second-round pick in 2025.
Johnson wore No. 0 as a rookie, but he’s back in his old number for his second season because linebacker Mack Wilson opted to switch to No. 1. After the team’s first OTA on Monday, Johnson said the switch made a significant difference in his mind.
“It means a lot,” Johnson said, via the team’s website. “It just feels right. I feel real comfortable in it so I’m glad I was able to get that back.”
Johnson was available in the second round because of injuries that kept him off the field too often in his final college season and a hamstring injury hampered his preparations for his rookie season, but better health is another reason why Johnson feels he’s on an upswing this time around.
“It’s a whole different feeling going into this year versus last year,” Johnson said. “Last year, coming in with all the draft stuff and combine, and I was injured coming in, so that versus having some experience and feeling comfortable in the defense is a whole different feeling. It feels really good this year.”
The Cardinals opted for defensive continuity by retaining defensive coordinator Nick Rallis under new head coach Mike LaFleur. A strong year for Johnson would help make that decision pay off in Arizona.
Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur didn’t have much to add about where things stand with quarterback Jacoby Brissett at a Monday press conference.
Brissett skipped the first two phases of the team’s voluntary work this spring as he looks for an adjustment to his contract and he remained away as they began organized team activities on Monday. LaFleur downplayed the impact of Brissett’s absence earlier this month by noting that the veteran has “played a lot of football” and would be able to pick up what the team is doing.
LaFleur did the same on Monday by saying that Brissett has “done probably everything we’ve ever done schematically.” He said everything else is status quo from where it was the last time he discussed Brissett’s absence.
“It’s the same as where we were a few weeks ago. . . . We’ve had contact, I’ll leave it at that,” LaFleur said.
LaFleur said he would be more concerned with a younger player missing time. Third-round pick Carson Beck would fall into that category, but he is seeing plenty of action along with Gardner Minshew while Brissett is away from the team.
Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett missed the early phases of the team’s offseason program and nothing changed with Monday’s move into the organized team activity phase of their work.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Brissett did not attend the team’s first OTA on Monday. The third phase of the offseason program features the most on-field work and the quarterbacking portion will be handled by Gardner Minshew and third-round pick Carson Beck.
The OTAs are voluntary and next month’s minicamp will be the only mandatory work of the offseason. Brissett will be subject to fines if he does not attend those workouts.
Brissett started the final 12 games of the season for the Cardinals in 2025 and is looking for a bump in pay that reflects the possibility that he’ll be the starting quarterback again this season. Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur said earlier this month that the team has had good dialogue with Brissett, but didn’t share any of the details of how that dialogue might lead to Brissett’s appearance on the practice field.
Given the increased work for the others in his absence, the current approach could ultimately work against Brissett’s bid to land the starting role.
