Cardinals show up to camp, still owe Brissett a check

Training camp opened for the Cardinals this week, and so did the most awkward subplot in the building: their probable starting quarterback still doesn't have the deal he wants. Jacoby Brissett walked through the doors anyway, according to Mike Garafolo, choosing to show up and compete rather than hold out over money.

The backstory here matters. Brissett signed a 2-year, $12.5 million deal last offseason strictly as insurance behind Kyler Murray, only $1.5 million of it guaranteed. Then Murray went down with a foot injury and Brissett ended up starting 12 games, going 1-11 while averaging 280.5 yards a game. Rough record, but it was enough tape for Arizona to release Murray this offseason and hand Brissett the keys, at least on paper, for 2026.

That's exactly why he's digging in on money. Brissett is playing this year for $5.39 million on the back half of a backup-tier contract, and he's reportedly seeking something closer to $11 million annually, in the range of what Justin Fields and Kirk Cousins got as stopgap-starter money. The Cardinals, for their part, have offered something closer to $7 million, in line with what Marcus Mariota and Davis Mills signed for. Sources have called the two sides "clearly far apart," and Brissett already made his frustration known by skipping voluntary offseason work before showing up for mandatory minicamp as a limited participant.

Reporting to camp without a deal doesn't mean the fight is over. It just means Brissett is choosing to compete for the job in real time rather than sit at home and bet on leverage. He's not walking into a guaranteed gig either; Gardner Minshew is signed for $5.75 million and very much in the mix for the starting job, with third-round rookie Carson Beck lurking as the long-term answer the Cardinals actually want.

Arizona wasn't the only team getting business started this week. The Cardinals and Panthers became the first two teams in the league to bring veterans into camp, and the timing lines up with their joint trip to Canton for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game.

So Arizona now has a quarterback competition playing out under a contract cloud, with the guy who bailed them out last season still waiting to get paid like it. Watch for how camp reps get split between Brissett and Minshew, and whether either side blinks on a number before the Cardinals have to make a real decision on their QB1 for a season where expectations are already shaky.