Jacoby Brissett’s grip on the Cardinals’ starting job may not be as permanent as the team’s offseason moves suggested.
Arizona has clearly treated Brissett like QB1. The club made it known he would start, bumped his pay by roughly $10 million because of that role, and even named him a team captain. Still, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler has floated a scenario in which Brissett could become a trade chip during the season.
The logic is pretty straightforward. Arizona’s quarterback picture has been easy to overlook, in part because the Cardinals are viewed as a team that may not contend and because Carson Beck was drafted in the third round.
But Fowler pointed out that the offense has enough talent to move the ball, and Brissett has already shown he can pile up production. Last season, he averaged 280.5 passing yards per start over 12 games.
If Brissett plays well and Arizona still isn’t winning enough, a midseason deal would open the door for the Cardinals to get a longer look at Beck, who handled himself well in the preseason, before the team turns its attention to the 2027 draft.
That possibility raises an awkward question for Arizona: what happens if Brissett is doing his job and the team still decides to move on? The Cardinals are expected to struggle in 2026, and the assumption is that Beck could end up starting before the season is over.
There’s also the locker-room angle. Trading a team captain would not exactly be a routine move.
Even so, the idea makes football sense. Brissett is not the long-term answer, and right now he does not appear to be part of Arizona’s plans in 2027. If the right opportunity comes along, getting something back for him would be a logical move.
For now, it remains only a hypothetical. But it is one worth keeping in mind: if the Cardinals are bad, does Brissett stay productive, or does he drift back toward the kind of ordinary production that has defined most of his career?
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