The Arizona Cardinals are moving on from formerly-anointed starting quarterback Jacoby Brissett in more ways than one.
On Wednesday, just days following the Cardinals’ comeback win over the Cowboys, and the subsequent news that Gardner Minshew would be taking on QB1 duties for Arizona, news broke that the Cardinals would be sending Brissett off to the QB-needy Baltimore Ravens.
The deal has not yet been made official and the compensation is yet unknown as a result. It’s expected to be finalized in the coming days.
But the move is one Cardinal fans are likely excited to see come across their timeline.
Quick reaction: Cardinals send Brissett to Ravens
It was clear Brissett wasn’t working inside of Mike LaFleur’s offense the way the Cardinals had hoped. He’s thrown for 1,719 yards, 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions with a passer rating of 79.7 on the season.
Since taking over as the Cardinals’ starter from Kyler Murray, Brissett has a 3-16 record in games he both started and finished. Whether or not the veteran passer was wholly to blame, the results were not where they needed to be.
And when Minshew took over, the difference in offensive output was immediately notable. It became clear as 2026 dragged on that Brissett was not the ideal fit for Arizona’s offense, and though he is well-liked in the Cardinals’ locker room, there was no longer any way to justify sticking with the 33-year-old.
As a result, it doesn’t matter what the return is in this deal. It will almost certainly be a late day three pick at this stage.
The trade removes Brissett from the roster and from the inactive-on-gameday emergency QB3 role he was expected to hold moving forward. Arizona can ride the hot hand with Minshew until it’s time to evaluate third-round rookie Carson Beck, which — barring an improbably strong second half from Minshew — will happen at some point in the season.
The deal itself signifies the Cardinals handling an ugly situation in the proper manner. Brissett can head back to an AFC North division with which he’s familiar, and he won’t be a distraction for the Cardinals moving forward.
The trade does, however, paint Arizona’s puzzling offseason proceeding in a worse light. Brissett opted to hold out for a more lucrative contract and the Cardinals paid it. Rather than simply moving forward with Minshew — who the Cardinals pursued in free agency this offseason — and trading Brissett ahead of the year, they forced Brissett into an offense where he clearly was not able to produce at a high level.
Granted, Minshew is likely not the long-term answer. The issue is Brissett clearly was not, either. Arizona banked on success from 2025, which was inflated due to garbage time, as well as continuity in the locker room. Perhaps the idea of bringing back a solid veteran like Brissett made sense in a vacuum, but this story should not have gotten to this point.
The Cardinals will have a relatively clean slate with regard to the QB position moving forward. They’ll have to weigh whatever they see out of Beck against the prospect of drafting a rookie passer or signing a veteran in free agency.
But removing Brissett from the equation opens up those avenues. Arizona will not have to navigate tricky roster- or locker room-related issues to test their quarterback waters moving forward.
Will Brissett produce in Baltimore? Perhaps. At any rate, he’ll likely be more effective in smaller sample sizes and in a backup-centric role. But he was no longer the best option for Arizona on Sundays, and the Cardinals did what they had to do.
