Who Should I Start? Jacoby Brissett or Graham Mertz

Thursday, May 28, 12:26 PM

Arizona Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur is unbothered and unconcerned by quarterback Jacoby Brissett's absence from OTAs, per Grant Gordon of NFL.com. The veteran signal-caller is entering the final season of his two-year, $12.5 million contract with the Cardinals and is agitating for a new deal. While Brissett has largely operated as a backup to this point in his 10-season NFL career, he currently sits atop the Arizona depth chart. Brissett also performed well after taking over as the Cardinals' QB1 in Week 6 of 2025, throwing for 3,366 yards, 23 touchdowns, and eight interceptions across 14 games (12 starts). While it's unlikely that Arizona views the 33-year-old Brissett as its quarterback of the future, he profiles as one of the better stopgap options in the league and would certainly outperform his current contract on the open market. The quarterbacks behind Brissett on the Cardinals depth chart are veteran journeyman Gardner Minshew II and 2026 third-round pick Carson Beck.