How concerned is Mike LaFleur over Jacoby Brissett, Josh Sweat OTAs absences?
The Arizona Cardinals have two weeks left of voluntary organized team activities before mandatory minicamp takes hold.
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TEMPE — Arizona Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett and pass rusher Josh Sweat were not in attendance for Wednesday’s organized team activities.
It marks the second week in a row neither were present.
Brissett wasn’t expected to show up for this week’s OTAs after skipping previous voluntary work as he asks for a raise that pays him as Arizona’s starter.
The two sides reportedly remain significantly apart in contract negotiations.
First-year head coach Mike LaFleur, however, doesn’t seem too concerned about Brissett missing the installation of his system given the quarterback’s NFL resume.
“You’d be hard pressed to see if Jacoby hasn’t done most of what we’ve are doing physically,” LaFleur said Wednesday. “It’s word association from that point and cadences and all that kind of stuff. But the hardest thing to teach a player is the speed of the game in NFL game in general, and he’s played a lot of ball, so he’ll be just fine.”
While Brissett is viewed as the expected Week 1 starter, the Cardinals haven’t publicly named him as that.
The veteran quarterback went 1-11 as a starter for the Cardinals last season after taking over for former franchise signal caller Kyler Murray.
He completed 65.1% of his throws for 3,366 yards and 23 touchdowns to eight interceptions. He added another 166 yards and a score on 37 carries.
Tight end Trey McBride and wide receiver Michael Wilson benefited the most with Brissett under center, each setting career marks in multiple statistical categories.
Sweat, meanwhile, continues to stay away from OTAs for non-injury related reasons.
It’s not out of the ordinary for the veteran to miss voluntary work. He did the same thing last year.
But with a head-coaching change and whispers that he may be unhappy in Arizona, more eyeballs are on his attendance this year.
“I don’t even read into the offers. I don’t look at that,” LaFleur said. “I’m just excited for the fact that I don’t have to game plan against this guy. I got to know him when I first got this job. He’s a good dude.
“He’s not the first guy to go about his process the way he is in terms of how he’s training and all that. I’ve been around a lot of really good football players that have done this.”
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Until mandatory minicamp, however, the concern level regarding the pass rusher’s presence at OTAs remains relatively low.
If he doesn’t show then, crank up the panic meter.
Who else was missing from Cardinals OTAs?
While Brissett and Sweat headlined the list of absences, the most surprising was offensive lineman Paris Johnson Jr.
LaFleur didn’t get into specifics, but said Johnson was fine health-wise and Wednesday was a planned absence.
Other players not working with the team included defensive linemen Walter Nolen III and Roy Lopez, cornerbacks Garrett Williams and Starling Thomas V and wide receiver Reggie Virgil.
Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur on players missing today’s OTAs today ⬇️ https://t.co/L7ZqptChwB pic.twitter.com/ddtSpdlTmr
— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) May 27, 2026
Defensive lineman L.J. Collier and running backs Trey Benson and James Conner were seen working off to the side. Same with rookie linebacker Karson Sharar.
Tight end Tip Reiman watched from the sideline.
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Comments
2 Comments
This is the height of journalistic irresponsibility!!!
So the reporting from some yahoo who saw that Josh Sweat “did not show up to OTA’s” so there must be a problem……it goes from that …….to….. oh, he is not happy because JG brought him in and now JG is gone. Yeah…….oh yeah from THAT this hipster doofus surmises that Sweat is unhappy because obviously if he was happy, then he would be at OTA’s. that was the entire logic behind this false and ridiculous misinformation.
AND NOW we find out that Josh Sweat didn’t attend last year’s OTA’s because he prefers to prepare and train elsewhere? What a joke and how infuriating that “sports” writers would jump to such unfounded assumptions to try to drum up a story……who knows what their motivations are but if I ever recall who started this “inside info” garbage rumor, then i’m not going to read that guys’ article for a year.
CLICKBAIT.
Of course LaFleur isn't concerned, or worried, or otherwise dwelling on their absence. Why would he be?
This is a space holder for real Cardinals news, of which there is none until real camp opens.