Heading into the 2026 offseason, the big topic of conversation surrounding the Minnesota Vikings was obviously the quarterback position, as J.J. McCarthy didn't quite get the job done after finally taking the field after missing his entire rookie season.
For starters, of course, the No. 10 overall pick from the 2024 draft once again dealt with injury issues, missing five games with an ankle injury, another with a concussion, and another due to a small hairline fracture in his throwing hand. And while the Michigan alum showed some flashes of brilliance at times when healthy, he struggled from an overall standpoint, ultimately completing just 57.6 percent of his passes flashes of brilliance at times when healthy, he struggled overall, completing just 57.6 percent of his passes for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns, andfor 1,632 yards with 11 touchdowns against 12 interceptions in 10 games.
Naturally, McCarthy's future at QB1 (or just his future in Minnesota as a whole, for that matter) was discussed at length at season's end, and it certainly didn't help his case that the man he replaced, Sam Darnold, won the Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks. Several quarterbacks were floated as potential replacements, or at least as competition for McCarthy, and the Vikings, as the world knows, ended up signing Kyler Murray after he was released by the Arizona Cardinals.
Now, whether Murray is the answer for the Purple & Gold under center obviously remains to be seen, and there's certainly no guarantee that he'll even be the starter come Week 1, as McCarthy, if he's not traded away, could very well come into training camp and earn the job. It's been quite the circus already, and that's not going to change. But Vikings fans can at least now have a few laughs at another organization having some QB issues, with that organization being none other than the Cardinals, as Murray's replacement, Jacoby Brissett, seemingly isn't happy with his situation.
Jacoby Brissett is reportedly not attending the Cardinals' offseason training program, while Kyler Murray has joined the Minnesota Vikings.
While Brissett had started 51 games before signing with the Cardinals ahead of this past season, he's typically been seen as a backup since coming into the league in 2016. As such, he was paid like one, albeit a higher-end one, inking a two-year, $12.5 million deal with Arizona last March.
But with Murray basically being benched after making just five starts, Brissett took on the QB1 role, starting a dozen games and completing 64.9 percent of his passes for 3,366 yards with 23 touchdowns against just eight interceptions in 14 overall appearances. Yeah, the Vikings would have taken those numbers all day, but that's not the point here.
Well, now with Murray out the door for good, Ian Rapaport has reported that Brissett is not attending Phase 1 of the Cardinals' offseason program, as the 33-year-old is apparently seeking a contract extension that pays him like a starter.
As it stands now, according to Over The Cap, Brissett is set to earn just $4.88 million in base salary for the 2026 campaign, and the only guaranteed money left on his contract is $1.5 million after he received $6.5 million of his $8 million total guarantee at signing. That's certainly not QB1 money.
The hilarity here for Vikings fans, of course, is that the Cardinals are paying Murray $35.5 million in 2026, while Minnesota is only on the hook for $1.3 million. And again, if you look at some of the things being said on social media, just watching another team go through some QB issues seems to be giving some of those same fans a little joy.
Whether the Cards will acquiesce to Brissett's supposed demands is anyone's guess.
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