The Arizona Cardinals announced on Tuesday afternoon that quarterback Jacoby Brissett will start in Week 10 against the Seattle Seahawks.
That means a fourth straight week on the bench for quarterback Kyler Murray as he recovers from an ankle injury, but continues to raise questions over his future role in Arizona.
Does Drew Brees Agree With the Cardinals?
On Tuesday morning, Super Bowl Champion Drew Brees joined ESPN’s “First Take” to discuss Arizona’s quarterback controversy and give his opinion on the matter.
The Cardinals drafted Murray with the first-overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Murray is now in his seventh year with the Cardinals and signed a five-year, $230.5 million rookie extension in 2022.
However, despite reaching two Pro Bowls and winning Rookie of the Year, the Cardinals have only been to the playoffs once in the seven years since Murray was drafted.
In Murray’s five starts in 2025, the Cardinals quarterback never surpassed a C+ grade performance, according to PFSN’s QB Impact. Murray’s best week came against the Tennessee Titans with a 77.9 grade.
Brees joined ESPN’s “First Take” on Tuesday morning and weighed in on Arizona’s quarterback controversy.
“Is Kyler Murray your franchise quarterback? I mean, has he ever been your franchise quarterback? I mean, every everything that I’ve ever heard … is you’ve got mixed emotions all over the place, from the fan base, to the locker room, to so many,” Brees said. “I know that you paid him, and I know that you’ve basically put him in that position and try to set him up for success.
“But at the end of the day, I don’t think that’s ever been solidified there, that’s always been an up in the air, and you never had a moment where somebody stepped in and had actually given the team some hope.”
Brees does have a point. The Cardinals haven’t really had many moments where, watching the game, you’re like, ‘Yeah, he’s our guy.’
Murray has had moments, and he’s exciting to watch because of his athleticism and play style. But the Cardinals have one winning season with Murray, which was 9-5 in 2021 in their lone playoff trip. Aside from that, Arizona has had six losing seasons and an 8-8 season.
“Now you have that with Jacoby Brissett, a veteran, guy who has a ton of maturity. I mean, you just see him coming into his own. You see the way that the players respond to him, you just, you could feel it last night as you’re watching the game,” Brees said. “It’s hard to put numbers or metrics to that other than just you know what you’re watching.
“I don’t think you can take Jacoby Brissett off the field right now. They played their best football in the last couple of weeks. They’re trending up.”
That’s exactly what the Cardinals have decided, at least for one more week. Coach Jonathan Gannon announced on Tuesday morning that Brissett will be the Week 10 starter, and he did so this early in the week to give the team some clarity as they prepare.
However, Brees then described how he would approach the scenario moving forward as the head coach of the team.
“At the end of the day, I’m the head coach, I’m going around to the leaders on the team, and I’m pulling them in the office, and I’m going to get their perspective,” Brees said. “I’m going to get their feeling, their perspective on it, but I think you have to roll with Jacoby Brissett at this point.”
It’s an uneasy time in Arizona as the move to Brissett is a big one, and if that move determines Murray’s future with the Cardinals, there will be a big change coming.
However, news also broke on Tuesday that Murray’s injury could realistically be taking this long, and longer to heal, and Gannon has reiterated that Murray, when healthy, is the Cardinals’ starter.
It’s certainly an interesting perspective from the 13-time Pro-Bowler and former All-Pro quarterback, and it seems to be the perspective of many fans who are watching Brissett play right now.