Cardinals HC Jokes About Jacoby Brissett's CFB Eligibility After Court Order on NCAA Sports

Arizona Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur indicated Thursday he's focused on starters like Jacoby Brissett and Trey McBride rather than players reportedly involved in a legal battle for extended NCAA eligibility.

Cardinals safety Wydett Williams was reportedly one of multiple athletes recently granted a temporary restraining order in a Louisiana court that would make them eligible to return to college.

"This is going to be wild, how this all plays out," LaFleur told reporters when asked Thursday about the report.

LaFleur continued, "I know this: Jacoby's not going to get another year of eligibility. He'll be with us, along with Trey and all those guys."

The Cardinals are currently preparing to play their second game of the preseason Saturday against the visiting Dallas Cowboys.

Williams, who signed a three-year contract with the Cardinals including $110,000 in guarantees, has appeared in two preseason contests so far amid his bid to make the 53-man roster.

LaFleur, who said Williams had "done a good job for us so far," said he would not have previously predicted preseason roster players potentially returning to college would be up for discussion.

"It's a whole different world in that game right now, as we know," LaFleur said about the NCAA.

Cardinals safety Budda Baker was also asked about the report in his Thursday media availability.

"We were joking about that in the DB room," Baker said. "That's cool. It's hard to comment on it. I've just never heard of that. But that's definitely something cool, that he has the possibility of doing."

The Cardinals' certainty that Brissett will be playing for the organization next season is relatively recent. The quarterback was holding in from training camp participation before the organization finalized a new contract that increased his guaranteed salary in July.

McBride also wasn't always a lock as a long-term option for the Cardinals. He said in a June appearance on the Bussin' With the Boys podcast he thought he might explore his options as a free agent after Arizona's first offer during extension negotiations in 2025.

The tight end ultimately settled on a four-year extension on the Cardinals a year before Brissett got his own reworked deal. Both will for now remain in Arizona as the Cardinals and the rest of the NFL work on navigating the shifting college football landscape.