NFL

Jacoby Brissett should demand blank check from Cardinals if Aaron Donald returns to Rams

Jacoby Brissett should demand blank check from Cardinals if Aaron Donald returns to Rams

I am 32 years old.

I like to consider myself to be in good shape.

I take a lot of walks with my partner and my dog.

I run a lot.

I lift weights a few times a week.

I don't find myself winded going up and down the stairs in my home.

For the most part, outside of perhaps a few too many adult beverages on occasion, I also eat right.

I may be "washed" based on how sports broadcasters talk about athletes my age, but I take care of myself.

I'm definitely in a good place with my health.

Still, even though I've never had to worry about getting hit by an onslaught of vicious NFL pass rushers, I certainly wouldn't want that to happen at this age.

I'm positive that just a single hit from someone like Myles Garrett, Aaron Donald, Nick Bosa, or Leonard Williams could quite literally break a significant portion of the bones in my body.

Some obscure bones of which I would likely only learn about their very existence after my surely life-threatening injuries.

As news of Donald returning to the Los Angeles Rams picks up steam , this could be exactly the gamble that 33-year-old veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett will soon be forced to make.

You see, the veteran signal-caller is currently locked into a contract "saga" with the rebuilding Arizona Cardinals.

The Cardinals , understandably, probably don't want to commit too much money and term to a quarterback who is a stopgap in every sense of the term.

Brissett, meanwhile, has earned nearly $68 million over the course of his NFL career.

Technically speaking, he doesn't need to play pro football anymore.

He could retire today, healthy and in one piece, and never work another day in his life.

That's the issue that Donald's possible comeback presents.

If Donald comes back to the Rams , Brissett will, for the foreseeable future, have six total NFC West divisional games against three of the NFL's best and most unkind to quarterback defenses: the Rams, the reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks , and the San Francisco 49ers.

Is it worth it for Brissett to play for the woeful Cardinals in these circumstances in the long term and risk his safety? Yes, probably, but only at a price he wants and is comfortable with.

In other words, it's time for Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill to back up a Brinks Truck for Brissett if he wants a somewhat competent quarterback to fill in the blanks for longer than this coming season.

Anything less, and I wouldn't be remotely surprised if Brissett took a hard pass on facing the NFC West beyond this year.

Especially not if Donald is back.

It's not worth the trouble whatsoever.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Jacoby Brissett should demand blank check from Cardinals if Aaron Donald returns to Rams.