It doesn’t appear that Jacoby Brissett and the Arizona Cardinals are close to agreeing on a reworked contract for the 33-year-old quarterback, despite months of negotiations.
Brissett and the Cardinals remain “significantly” far apart in their negotiations, according to ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss.
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Brissett – who is expected to enter the 2026 NFL season as the Cardinals’ primary starter – has not been in attendance for Arizona’s voluntary offseason activities amid his efforts to negotiate a new contract.
The 33-year-old is in the final year of a two-year, $12.5 million contract he signed with the Cardinals during the 2025 NFL offseason. He is slated to make up to $5.44 million in cash and carry a $9.19 million cap hit for the upcoming campaign, per Spotrac.com.
Brissett served as the Cardinals’ primary starter during the 2025 NFL season after Kyler Murray suffered a foot injury that proved to be season-ending. The journeyman completed 64.9% of his passes for 3,366 yards, 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions across 12 starts but posted just a 1-11 record.
It isn’t yet clear when – or if – the stalemate between Brissett and the Cardinals will end. Here’s a full breakdown of the situation, including Brissett’s contract, Arizona’s quarterback room and where the veteran signal-caller could land if the impasse proves unbridgeable.
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Jacoby Brissett contract details
As mentioned, Brissett is entering the final season of a two-year, $12.5 million contract he signed with the Cardinals during the 2025 NFL offseason. Below are the full details of that deal, per Spotrac.com.
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Total value: $12.5 million
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Average annual value (AAV): $6.25 million
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Guaranteed money: $8 million
Brissett’s AAV ranks just 31st among NFL quarterbacks and well below the average salary of starting quarterbacks on non-rookie deals. As such, it makes sense the veteran would want to cash in a big-money contract as he stares down just his fourth opportunity to be a Week 1 starter across his 11 NFL seasons.
To date, Brissett has logged just over $67.9 million in career earnings. The largest contract of his career is a two-year, $30 million extension he signed with the Indianapolis Colts in 2019, but he’s hoping to top that figure in any re-worked deal as the starter for the Cardinals.
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Jacoby Brissett stats
Brissett earned a raise based on his 2025 performance. His 94.1 passer rating was his best-ever in seven seasons in which he made at least one start while his 23 passing touchdowns were also a career-high.
Below is a full look at Brissett’s stats from the 2025 NFL season.
Of course, the biggest issue with Brissett was his 1-11 record. He wasn’t entirely responsible for the team’s struggles in that department, as the coaching staff was let go after the season, but it is worth noting that he has just a 20-45 career record as a starter with no winning seasons.
Additionally, Brissett graded just 24th among 38 qualified quarterbacks at Pro Football Focus last season. Meanwhile, his expected points added (EPA) per dropback ranked just 23rd among 33 qualified quarterbacks, per the NFL’s Next Gen Stats.
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So, while Brissett has been efficient — his career 1.4% interception rate is tied with Aaron Rodgers for the best among qualified passers in NFL history — it’s understandable that the Cardinals might be reluctant to give him a massive raise.
Cardinals QB depth chart
Even so, Brissett is the clear-cut top quarterback on Arizona’s roster at present. The Cardinals are currently four-deep at the position. Here’s a look at their pecking order.
The Cardinals brought in Minshew — another veteran journeyman — to serve as the backup behind Brissett. Minshew, who has a 17-30 career record and an 88 passer rating, is set to make $5.75 million on his one-year deal.
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Beck was selected in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft out of Miami (Fla.) and could get playing time if Brissett and Minshew struggle early in the season. The six-year college quarterback completed 72.4% of his passes for 3,813 yards, 30 touchdowns and 12 interceptions last year while leading the Hurricanes to a national championship game appearance in his lone season with the school.
Slovis spent the 2025 season with the Cardinals and served as their third-string quarterback after Murray got hurt. He will likely be competing for a spot on the practice squad, though he could emerge as the team’s third-stringer once again if the team heads for a split with Brissett.
Jacoby Brissett landing spots
The issue Brissett may run into in negotiations with the Cardinals is a lack of leverage. There aren’t many other landing spots where the veteran could realistically emerge as a starting quarterback, which would cap his earnings potential if he were to split with the Cardinals.
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For that reason, it could ultimately be in Brissett’s best interest to remain with the Cardinals in the hopes he can eventually negotiate a raise with the team. However, if such an agreement doesn’t take place, the following teams represent the quarterback’s best potential organizational fits.
New York Jets
The Jets remade their quarterback room during the offseason, trading for Geno Smith and spending a fourth-round pick on Clemson’s Cade Klubnik to give Frank Reich a couple of intriguing options at the quarterback position.
That said, there were plenty of rumors during the offseason about the Jets wanting to acquire multiple veteran quarterbacks for their team. Brissett would fit the bill as a challenger for Smith, though he would likely remain behind the veteran in New York.
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Still, the Jets are one of the few teams for which Brissett would have a potential path to the starting job. They have to be considered the top option for the veteran should he not be able to work things out in Arizona.
Indianapolis Colts
The Colts have Anthony Richardson slated to back up Daniel Jones, but the 2023 first-round pick has requested a trade away from the team. If Indianapolis grants that request, it will need an experienced backup quarterback to provide depth behind Jones as he returns from a torn Achilles suffered last season.
Perhaps a swap involving Brissett and Richardson could be considered. Brissett would give the Colts the veteran stability they need while Richardson would represent a high-upside gamble for Mike LaFleur’s staff.
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New England Patriots
The Patriots moved on from Josh Dobbs during the 2026 NFL offseason. Could they consider a reunion with Brissett to help replace him? Josh McDaniels may be fine trusting Tommy DeVito and seventh-round rookie Behren Morton as the top options behind Drake Maye, but if Brissett becomes available, New England may at least adding the veteran.
Buffalo Bills
The Bills currently have Kyle Allen set to back up Josh Allen. Brissett would be an upgrade in that role for a Bills team that could use insurance behind their star quarterback as they look to win their first-ever Super Bowl.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What to know about Jacoby Brissett’s stalemate with Cardinals
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