Jacoby Brissett was in the middle of a December press conference when offensive linemen Hjalte Froholdt, Isaiah Adams and Jon Gaines II entered the room while cameras rolled.
The trio were there to thank Brissett in public for their Christmas gifts, even as Brissett sat there scrunching his face like someone who had hoped the restaurant wait staff wasn't going to sing him happy birthday on such an occasion.
The moment symbolized what Brissett meant to his teammates, not unlike when Budda Baker tweeted right before training camp – without naming Brissett specifically – that the team needed urgency in adjusting Brissett's contract, using an expletive and exclamation points.
"I kind of have a little soft spot for him," wide receiver Michael Wilson said, "just because what he helped me do last year."
As the Cardinals begin the regular season Sunday in Los Angeles against the Chargers, Brissett is QB1. He was always going to be QB1, despite the contract issue, despite the Cardinals using a third-round pick on Carson Beck.
Brissett is the best quarterback the Cardinals have. Perhaps more importantly, he is the quarterback that his teammates believe in, forged last season while under center. The currency, Brissett once said he likes to trade in, is respect from teammates.
"The one consistent thing was I always want to be a good teammate," Brissett said Wednesday. "Appreciation from my teammates is always something I try to consistently achieve.
"When I was having those conversations with a lot of my teammates just to check up on things (during the contract issues), the support from them was all I really needed as fuel."
Despite the offseason drama, Brissett entered training camp as the unquestioned starting quarterback, the first time in his 11-year NFL career that was the case. It's the first time he's gotten the full prep time to be the starter, a situation he had been in three times previous for Week 1.
The spotlight runs hot in every season opener, but for a team's starting QB, "you're the first impression of what the season is going to look like," Brissett said.
What Brissett did last year over 12 starts – 3,336 yards, 23 touchdowns, only eight interceptions – helped propel Wilson's career and helped push Trey McBride on to the All-Pro team. That was not a small feat, with Wilson, who just signed a big extension, saying he was indebted to Brissett.
Brissett waved off any credit Wilson tried to give him. He is just part of the offense, he repeats often. A decade in the NFL gives him the gravitas as a leader, his emotion on the field forges a bond with others. McBride noted Brissett will make sure the defense knows when Brissett has made a good throw – "I think that's cool to see out of a quarterback."
The contract with Brissett was done a few days into training camp, and from there it was an accelerated process to teach Brissett the playbook and the verbiage. That was less of a chore for Brissett given his experience, even though he was not around during the offseason.
There was also an accelerated getting-to-know curve with the new head coach, since Brissett hadn't been around much once Mike LaFleur was hired.
But the two have quickly built a relationship (Brissett joked they were "best friends" now) and LaFleur, ever the coach, emphasized the important part was that both had a duty to be prepared for the regular season.
"Whether he was or was not a good dude — he probably wouldn't be here and he probably wouldn't have the career he did — all that's irrelevant," LaFleur said. "We have jobs to do, and we take it as such. It just so happens to be (that) he's a good dude and someone that I enjoy being around."
Brissett's teammates already knew that. For all the uncertainty over the offseason, it's long over. Brissett is QB1. And his teammates voted him a captain.
"That's the ultimate goal," Brissett said. "Ask any player in that locker room, you want that 'C' on your chest because you know how much it means to the people (in there)."
