Jacoby Brissett Reportedly Not at Cardinals OTAs Amid Contract Holdout Ahead of 2026 NFL Season

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett was not present at his team's voluntary offseason team activities on Tuesday, per ESPN's Josh Weinfuss, as he continues to seek a new contract more commensurate with his status as the team's starting quarterback.

For the record, Brissett is not missing any mandatory practice time as of yet. The Cardinals have four more voluntary OTA practices before mandatory minicamp goes from June 8-10.

However, it's clear at this point Brissett is willing to miss time for a deal he deserves. The problem is his camp and the Cardinals don't appear close on a contract, per Weinfuss, who provided more information and quoted a source that said the two sides are "significantly" far apart.

"Brissett has not attended any of the Cardinals voluntary OTAs or the voluntary offseason program as he waits for a new contract for this year, the second of a two-year deal he signed in March 2025. His deal currently pays him $4.88 million, with the potential to grow to $5.39 million, of which just $1.5 million is guaranteed. By comparison, Gardner Minshew II, whom Arizona signed as a free agent in March, had $5.14 million guaranteed by the team for 2026."

Things have changed for Brissett ever since he signed a two-year, $12.5 million contract last year. Back then, the Cardinals were looking for a dependable veteran backup to Kyler Murray.

That changed when Murray suffered a mid-foot sprain in Week 5. Brissett then plated the rest of the season and was productive with 3,366 yards and 23 touchdowns (eight interceptions) in 12 starts.

To put those numbers in perspective, that's a full-season (17-game) pace of about 33 touchdowns and 4,769 yards. The TD number would have put him third in the NFL, and the yardage number would have been first.

One can surmise that Brissett may not be in the team's long-term plans. Brissett turns 34 in December, and the Cardinals are a rebuilding team seemingly a long way from contending, especially in a brutally tough NFC West where the other three teams just won at least 12 games apiece. So the Cardinals may be looking down the road for a young quarterback, perhaps in the 2027 draft. The team also has an option in Carson Beck, the team's third-round pick this year.

Still, it's hard to argue against Brissett being deserving of a big raise, considering that he (a) fared quite well last year all things considered and (b) is set to get paid less guaranteed money than the team's backup, Gardner Minshew II.

So we'll see how things fare. One can guess that Brissett would hold out for the remainder of the voluntary practices unless he gets a new deal. The big date to watch is June 8, when practice attendance is mandatory.