Jacoby Brissett practices for Arizona Cardinals but the QB's contract situation is still unsettled

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — One of the initial tasks for first-year Arizona Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur is figuring out who the team's starting quarterback will be, now that the post-Kyler Murray era has arrived.

The answer might not be coming any time soon.

Veteran Jacoby Brissett — who started the final 12 games last season — was the initial favorite to land the role, but didn't practice with the team during the offseason because he's unhappy with his contract situation. However, he participated in Thursday's workout in a signal a new deal could be close.

Brissett appears to be in a three-man battle with veteran Gardner Minshew and rookie Carson Beck for the starting job, but LaFleur didn't give any clues about the depth chart when asked to describe the competition.

“I'd describe it as practice one on July 23,” LaFleur said.

The 33-year-old Brissett is in the final year of a $12.5 million, two-year deal, though only $1.5 million is guaranteed. If he remains the starter, he would be among the league’s lowest-paid quarterbacks.

Brissett had good individual stats last season with 3,366 yards passing, 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions, but the Cardinals went 1-11 in his starts. The Cardinals finished last in the NFC West at 3-14.

Safety Budda Baker made his feelings known about Brissett's situation on social media earlier this month, posting: “Just want bro to get his (expletive) done… he is not asking for what you think. Bro is asking for below the bare minimum. Let’s just get it done!!!”

Baker stood by his statement on Thursday.

“I definitely think Jacoby did a great job coming in last year,” Baker said. “I know we didn't get the wins that we wanted to get, but I think he commanded the offense at a high level.”

Starting left tackle Paris Johnson (knee) and star edge rusher Josh Sweat (knee) opened camp on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list.

LaFleur said he wasn't concerned about the long-term prognosis for either player.

“The Paris thing, that's really, honestly nothing. We're all on the same page, it's really just maintenance stuff so he'll be back before you know it,” LaFleur said. “Same thing with Josh. Seeing him yesterday, he's fired up to be here. He was in great spirits and looked really good.”

Johnson and Sweat won't practice, but they still count toward the 90-man training camp roster limit. They are permitted to attend meetings and can return to practice at any point during the preseason.

Johnson is entering his fourth season as a starter, while Sweat had a career-high 12 sacks last season.

The other two on the PUP list — cornerback Garrett Williams (Achilles tendon) and Tip Reiman (ankle) — are still recovering from serious injuries that happened last season.

LaFleur's first training camp — including the quarterback battle — has been overshadowed by off-the-field issues over the past few weeks.

The NFL suspended Cardinals personnel executive Ryan Gold indefinitely on July 17 for violating the league’s gambling policy. The league said its investigation determined that Gold provided confidential, non-public inside information regarding 2026 draft selections by the Cardinals before the picks were announced, and Gold also participated in parlay bets on NFL and college games.

Gold is in his 13th season with the organization.

More recently, Cardinals offensive lineman Isaiah Adams was arrested in Canada on four weapons charges. Adams, a third-year player who is competing for a starting spot, was at camp Thursday.

The 25-year-old was charged with possession of a firearm obtained in a crime, possession of a restricted/prohibited firearm, no license while in possession of a loaded firearm and possessing a prohibited device. Adams’ attorney, Adam Weisberg, said in a statement that Adams is “completely innocent in this matter.”

“He's doing good,” LaFleur said of Adams. “I'm not going to comment too much on that obviously ... but he's doing good and it's good to see him.”

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Arizona Cardinals safety Isaiah Oliver (34) and Cardinals tight end Jameson Geers (46) work on special teams drills during NFL football training camp practice, Thursday, July 23, 2026, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett (7) talks with Cardinals quarterback Carson Beck, left, during NFL football training camp practice, Thursday, July 23, 2026, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Arizona Cardinals running back Jeremiyah Love runs with the ball during NFL football training camp practice, Thursday, July 23, 2026, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Arizona Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur shouts instructions to players during NFL football training camp practice, Thursday, July 23, 2026, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett throws during NFL football training camp practice, Thursday, July 23, 2026, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

ATLANTA (AP) — A teenager accused of killing four people nearly two years ago at Apalachee High School in Georgia is due in court Friday for a plea and sentencing hearing.

Colt Gray, 16, previously pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges in the Sept. 4, 2024, shooting that killed two students and two teachers, and left several others wounded, at the high school about 45 miles (73 kilometers) northeast of Atlanta.

Barrow County Superior Court Judge Nicholas Primm has set a “Non-Negotiated Plea and Sentencing Hearing” to begin Friday. Gray's trial had been scheduled to start in mid-October in Columbia County, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) from where the shooting happened, after the judge agreed to a defense request for a change of venue.

A jury in March convicted Gray's father, Colin Gray, on charges including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter, and he is scheduled to be sentenced next week. Prosecutors said the elder Gray gave his son the assault-style rifle used to open fire at the school.

Teachers Richard “Ricky” Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, and students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, died in the shooting. Another teacher and eight more students were wounded, seven of them hit by gunfire.

A non-negotiated plea means that the state and the defense have not reached an agreement on a sentence. Unlike a negotiated plea deal, in which a defendant often pleads guilty in exchange for an agreed-upon sentence and possibly reduced charges, sentencing is left entirely to the judge. The judge decides the sentence after hearing each side’s summary of the case, evidence and sentencing recommendation.

Prosecutors have indicated in court filings that they intend to call teenage victims and witnesses to testify and to show surveillance video and crime scene photos during Friday's hearing. They have also noted that they may introduce a slew of records, including 911 calls and Colt Gray's school, medical and social media records.

Gray's defense attorney wrote in a court filing that he plans to call a psychologist, someone who works at the juvenile detention center where he has been held and his grandmother to testify.

Gray, who was 14 at the time of the shooting, was charged as an adult with 55 total counts, including murder in the four deaths and 25 counts of aggravated assault.

Investigators testified that the teenager carried the rifle onto the school bus with the barrel wrapped in a poster board. They said he left his second-period class and emerged from a bathroom with the rifle, shooting people in a classroom and hallway.

Investigators have said Colt Gray carefully plotted the shooting at the high school of 1,900 students. A Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent testified that the teen left a notebook in his classroom with step-by-step instructions and a diagram to prepare for the assault, including an estimate that he could kill as many as 26 people and wound as many as 13 others.

Sheriff’s deputies interviewed Colt and Colin Gray in May 2023 about an online threat linked to the son. Colt Gray denied making the threat. He skipped eighth grade, enrolled as a freshman at Apalachee after the academic year had begun and then had a spotty attendance record.

Investigators found a shrine in Colt Gray's bedroom to Nikolas Cruz, the shooter in the 2018 massacre at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, prosecutors said.

An investigator testified during Colin Gray's trial that he had been aware that his son's mental health had deteriorated and sought help from a counseling service weeks before the shooting, citing anger, anxiety and volatility. But the father never followed through on getting help for his son, the investigator said.

His mother, Marcee Gray, who was separated from Colin Gray, told investigators she had urged him weeks before the shooting to secure his guns and restrict their son’s access to them. Instead, over time, Colin Gray bought the boy ammunition, a gun sight and other shooting accessories, records show.

FILE - School shooting suspect Colt Gray exits the Barrow County Courthouse, Dec. 9, 2025, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, Pool, file)