Cardinals QB Jacoby Brissett skipped most of the team’s off-season program as he requested a new deal. The team and Brissett came to an agreement in the final year of his two-year deal. He will be paid $15.5 million with a chance to reach $21 million with incentives. Brissett was scheduled to make $4.88 million this year before the agreement. He's now the Cardinals' starter for 2026.
What They're Saying: Brissett Got His Raise
Adam Schefter, ESPN: “Arizona and QB Jacoby Brissett, who skipped most of the team’s off-season program as he requested a new deal, reached agreement today on a reworked contract.
Brissett was in the second year of a two-year deal that was scheduled to pay him $4.88 million in base salary.”
Ian Rapoport, NFL Network: “The Cardinals and veteran QB Jacoby Brissett have reached a deal to increase his compensation for 2026, as his new one-year deal is worth $15.5M with a chance to reach $21M.”
2026 Fantasy Football Impact: Still Not Worth Adding in 1-QB
After taking over for an injured Kyler Murray in Week 6, Brissett ranked eighth among QBs in fantasy points per game over the final 12 weeks. He finished as a top-12 fantasy QB in 10 of those 12 games, although he never placed higher than QB6.
He was certainly productive, averaging 280.5 passing yards and 1.9 TDs per game over the stretch. That production got him the deal and cemented him as the starter for a Cardinals team in rebuild mode.
Brissett currently ranks 29th in our QB rankings despite the production last season. The Cardinals' offense will probably be bad, and they drafted RB Jeremiyah Love third overall to lean more on the run under HC Mike LaFleur. LaFleur’s only play-calling experience came with the Jets in 2021 and 2022. Both teams finished bottom-8 in total yards and points (though the team had one of the worst QB situations in the league with Zach Wilson, Mike White, and Joe Flacco).
LaFleur’s offenses were relatively balanced in terms of run/pass split, registering pass rates over expected of +3.9% and -0.6%. Considering LaFleur’s history, the team’s personnel, and the likelihood this won’t be a good team, expect the Cardinals to run a balanced to pass-leaning offense. Don’t expect them to throw anywhere near as much as they did last year.
The Cardinals are in rebuild mode. Brissett kept the offense decent over the final 12 games of last season. But we’re still talking about a 33-year-old journeyman with 6.6 yards per attempt for his career.
The contract lets us know that Brissett likely starts most of the year, though if the team is bad, pressure may come in to start rookie third-round QB Carson Beck.
Brissett's small sample size of success doesn't overrule his journeyman status combined with the potential to still be benched for the rookie if the team isn't contending by midseason.
Other Winners & Losers: Brissett Feeds Tight Ends
TE Trey McBride is the big winner with Brissett back.
Brissett has targeted TEs at the highest rate in the NFL since 2021 at 31.1%. He helped fuel McBride's TE1 overall finish last season and could spring McBride to another big fantasy season.
