Jacoby Brissett didn’t exactly walk into Cardinals camp with the kind of confidence that calms nerves.
After sitting out the offseason program and finally landing his money - a one-year deal worth $15.5 million and up to $21 million - Brissett admitted Sunday that he’s still trying to catch up in Arizona’s new offense. That’s a problem for a team that already had him operating from behind after he went 1-11 under center last year.
When asked by the local media how the offense is coming along, Brissett didn’t dress it up.
"Oh, hell no," Brissett said about having the offense down. "I think we just ran all Day 1 plays out there for me today. So, I got a long way to go."
That’s not exactly the kind of answer that suggests smooth sailing. Gardner Minshew and Carson Beck have been getting the starter reps, but neither is expected to be under center in Week 1. Brissett, meanwhile, is still learning an offense being built by Mike LaFleur and Nathaniel Hackett.
Brissett acknowledged that training camp is a time for everyone to learn a new system. Fair enough.
But for most of the roster, that learning started back in March during the offseason program, then continued through 10 days of OTA practices and a mandatory minicamp. Brissett is arriving late to the process, and he knows it.
For 49ers fans, it’s just the latest reason to smile at a Cardinals team that has already provided plenty of offseason material. In an NFC West that includes the San Francisco 49ers, the Seattle Seahawks and the Los Angeles Rams, Arizona is the outlier. And right now, it’s hard to argue otherwise.
The Cardinals may eventually reset again and take another swing at a quarterback in the 2027 NFL Draft. But for the moment, they’re the division’s easiest target, and Brissett’s comments only added to that image.
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