Jacoby Brissett has bounced around the NFL since he was drafted in the third round of 2016. He has mostly been a backup, though at times he has been tasked with being a full-time starter due to injuries or sudden retirements. He has been turnover-averse and has been decent but rarely great.
In other words, he is the very definition of a quality backup quarterback, but one a team would not expect to be a long-term starter. That is what makes 2026 different, especially as the quarterback knows he must be running out of time in his NFL career.
Instead of asking, "What's in it for me?", Brissett has often sought the best way of helping any team he has played for. He hasn't made high-end money, relatively speaking, but he has watched as other quarterbacks have. Now, he has a very good chance to start for the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1, and he wants to get paid.
Former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett disrespected by the Arizona Cardinals
To make matters more frustrating for Brissett, he started 12 games for Arizona in 2025, replacing presumed QB1 Kyler Murray officially late in the season, as Brissett was a better fit for Arizona's offense and had a career-high 23 touchdown passes and a 94.1 quarterback rating.
But even after letting Murray go this offseason while keeping Brissett, the Cardinals, one of the worst-run organizations in the NFL, signed another former Colts quarterback, Gardner Minshew, and gave Minshew more guaranteed money ($5.14 million) than Brissett has ($1.5 million). Talk about a smack in the face.
Jacoby Brissett, who played for Indianapolis from 2017 through 2020, knows he is being disrespected, too. So much so that he is choosing not to partake in the Cardinals' voluntary organized activities. He wants his contract redone for 2026, and he deserves it. He kept Arizona afloat in 2025, even while the team's overall record was poor.
The quarterback will probably do so in 2026 in the brutal NFC West. He should be able to beat Minshew out for the starting spot, and the only question is whether the team takes a chance on taking Alabama's Ty Simpson in the 2026 draft. Even then, Brissett should be the starter, and Simpson should sit and learn.
Jacoby Brissett has been too much of a professional and handled himself with class over the course of his career for a team like the Arizona Cardinals to take advantage of him. They are doing so. Hopefully, the former Indianapolis Colts quarterback gets a chance to get out of Arizona soon and plays somewhere that respects him.
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