Is the Cardinals Veteran Backup Quarterback a Place Holder or the Future?

Jacoby Brissett was never supposed to start this season. His job was to back up Kyler Murray, but he ended up becoming the full-time starter. As the season progressed, it has become clear that Kyler Murray may not be coming back next season. Jacoby Brissett has had an amazing season. There is a pivotal question going into next season. Is Jacoby Brissett only starting until the Cardinals find a new quarterback next year, or is he a permanent starter?

Brissett Shocks with Stats

Brissett did not even start playing until Week Six of this season, but he has still found a way to have 2,459 passing yards and 15 passing touchdowns. These stats may seem underwhelming, but given how little time Brissett has had with the team, they are actually impressive. He also has a 66.2% completion percentage. Brissett also broke an NFL record in Week 10 of this season. He had the highest passes completed in a regular season game with 47. His stats are not the problem; his failure to win games is, though.

Lack of Wins

While Jacoby Brissett’s stats have been quite impressive over his time as a starter, his record has not. Brissett has only won one out of the eight games he has started this season. There are lots of things that contributed to that. The offensive line has given him no time to pass the ball. There also has not been much of a run game ever since James Conner went down. The problem is that no one cares why the Cardinals are losing. They care who is the quarterback while they’re losing, and Brissett has lost way more games this season than he has won.  

Potential Draft Pick

The Cardinals will have the eighth pick in round one of the 2026 draft. This would be a great spot to get a starting quarterback. Ty Simpson, Dante Moore, and Fernando Mendoza are all quarterbacks who will likely be declaring for the 2026 NFL Draft. The Cardinals could take any one of those. The Cardinals will need to find out if they trust Jacoby Brissett to win more than a rookie.

Jacoby Brissett has done a phenomenal job at backing up Kyler Murray this season. However, is Jacoby Brissett just a great backup or a starting quarterback in this league? This will be up for the Cardinals to decide. With the lack of wins and the fact that Brissett is turning 34 next year, the odds do not seem to be in his favor.