Ossenfort: Cardinals ‘in a good spot’ with QB Jacoby Brissett

TEMPE — The Arizona Cardinals and Jacoby Brissett have had good dialogue amid the veteran quarterback’s ask for a raise and his absence from the team’s voluntary offseason program.

“Both Mike and I have had good dialogue with Jacoby,” general manager Monti Ossenfort said Thursday after the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft.

“Obviously, this is the voluntary portion of everything. We’ll continue to have conversations with Jacoby, but things are in a good spot.”

Brissett has not been present for voluntary work while he asks for a raise that pays him as Arizona’s starter.

His current contract carries a cap hit of $9.2 million in 2026, though only $1.5 million is guaranteed money.

For comparison, expected backup Gardner Minshew is slated to make $2.9 million in guaranteed money.

Just making Brissett’s contract fully guaranteed, plus an additional year added on could be all it takes to make this noise go away.

But while all indications point to Brissett being the starter in 2026, Arizona’s primary decision makers weren’t ready to go as far as to put that on record last week.

“They both have played a lot of ball. As we sit here today, we’re trying to install a system,” Ossenfort said. “We’re not really naming anybody. We’ll see how that room looks by the time we get to August.”

LaFleur added that “none of that’s even being discussed because all we’re trying to do is get a foundational aspect of what this system looks like.”

A day later, the report of Brissett’s ask and absence from voluntary work dropped.

Brissett is coming off a 1-11 mark as a starter for the Cardinals last year. The wins were at a premium, but the veteran moved the offense forward through the use of more play action and under-center looks.

He also did so despite injury-riddled running back and offensive line rooms.

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