THE SEASON AFTER Brissett signed that contract, the Colts brought in veteran Philip Rivers.
Upon hearing the news, Brissett told his therapist that he wanted to quit. While already battling all of the aforementioned emotions, he felt like he was being tested with the addition of a new quarterback.
“I felt like I was lied to and at a time when I’m trying to change and I’m trying to be kinder to myself and to people,” Brissett said. “She put life into perspective, and she told me to just learn from it.”
Brissett’s competitive nature kicked in, and he chose not to give up.
If he did give in, he wouldn’t be the current starting quarterback of the Cardinals.
“It ended up being a blessing because I learned so much from Philip,” Brissett said. “I can’t imagine my career today without Philip in it.”
Jonathan Gannon was a defensive backs coach in Indianapolis when Brissett and Rivers shared the QB room together. Although the majority of his time was spent on the defense, Gannon gained respect for how Brissett handled himself.
Like the veteran, Gannon said he also learned important lessons from Rivers that he and Brissett discuss daily. In fact, in Gannon’s office in the Arizona Cardinals Dignity Health Training Center, he has a hat, gifted to him by Rivers, with the Latin saying ‘Nunc Coepi.” It translates to “Now I begin.”
It’s a phrase that Rivers frequently said, and one that Gannon and Brissett lean on throughout the 2025 season.
“After a day of practice or after a game or in a game, ‘Now I begin,'” Gannon said. “You start over. Throw an interception, now I begin. It talks about the mental discipline to stay in the present. You’re thinking about right now.”
There were other moments during Brissett’s previous stops where he was tested. A quarterback carousel for someone that had been relegated to a journeyman backup role wasn’t easy. But after each door closed, a new one opened.
He had stints in Miami, Cleveland, Washington, and in New England before signing a contract with the Cardinals.
When the Browns called in 2022, after Brissett was again considering retirement, his therapist told him, “Good things happen to good people.”
“That situation reaffirmed that I know how to stay in it,” Brissett said. “The perseverance of mental health and staying mentally strong throughout tough situations. It’s just like seasons, games, it’s life. It all becomes the same thing.”