All is well in Arizona, according to rookie head coach Mike LaFleur.
Projected starter Jacoby Brissett has continued his voluntary absence as he looks for a salary.
Josh Sweat, the team’s 2025 senior shortstop, is also missing from organized team activities with rumors surrounding his future with the team.
LaFleur insists he’s not worried about either situation as he heads into his first year on the job.
“The few guys that weren’t out there that you guys probably saw today, we knew very well that they weren’t going to be here and a lot of it was planned ahead of time,” the former Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator told reporters on Wednesday.
Brissett has gone through the team’s offseason program. While all voluntary, Brissett’s absence is all the more notable because he’s a quarterback, looking for a new deal that pays him as a QB1 and also having to learn a new offense under LaFleur.
When it comes to getting the hang of the program, LaFleur has been consistent in his comments that he’s not worried about the 33-year-old 10-year NFL veteran going full force.
“Like I said, it would be hard to see if Jacoby didn’t do most of what we’re doing physically,” LaFleur said. “It’s a phrase from that point and rhythm and all that. The hardest thing to teach a player is the speed of the game — the NFL game, in general. He’s played a lot of ball, so he’ll be just fine.”
While news of Brissett’s contract status has been known since April, rumblings about Sweat are a little more recent. There have been reports that the Cardinals have received trade calls about signing Sweat, who had 12 sacks last season and had a close relationship with former head coach Jonathan Gannon.
“I don’t even read the bids,” LaFleur said. “I’m just excited about the fact that I don’t have to schedule a game against this guy. I got to know him when I first got this job. He’s a good guy. He’s going about his career and he’s not the first guy who’s going about his career the way he is in terms of how he’s training and all that.”