The Arizona Cardinals are underway with their first session of OTAs for the 2026 season. First-year head coach Mike LaFleur is hoping to set the foundation of what he believes can be a special season in the desert, though there's a few dominoes that need to fall in order for the Cardinals to shock the world. Competition is supposed to bring out the best in everybody — but these three players, for various reasons, might find their jobs to be on the line entering the summer:1. QB Jacoby BrissettAlright, this one might be just a tad of a reach, but it's still worth a conversation. Brissett is holding out of voluntary offseason team activities in hopes of a new contract. Every rep he doesn't take allows Gardner Minshew and Carson Beck to get themselves just a bit closer to making training camp more interesting for the Cardinals in their quarterback room. Had Brissett wanted to play ball in good faith while negotiating, his presence wouldn't make us think twice about who Arizona's QB1 will be. The Cardinals have been consistently reported to want Brissett as their starter in 2026, that's not really up for debate. Yet there's something to be said about Brissett not being present in LaFleur's first offseason, both as a head coach and play-caller. While Brissett does have experience in nearly every NFL offense (which is something LaFleur made sure to highlight), he's not getting reps specifically in LaFleur's scheme. Right now Brissett isn't getting reps with his teammates in a new system, and while that's not everything at this point in time, it's not nothing, either. 2. CB Max MeltonMax Melton had a strong rookie season for the Cardinals with hopes of 2025 being a nice leap for the second-round pick. It was anything but. Melton struggled to the point of being benched last season and now has names such as Sean Murphy-Bunting and Starling Thomas returning to full health this offseason. That's on top of a crowded room including Will Johnson, Denzel Burke, Garrett Williams (currently hurt), Kei'Trel Clark and Elijah Jones. Melton was spotted returning kicks during our first glimpse of OTAs, which isn't a vote of confidence in his appearance on the defensive depth chart — at least in this point of time. Especially with defensive coordinator Nick Rallis returning, Melton just might be falling out of favor in the desert for good. 3. Darius RobinsonRobinson, a 2024 first-round pick, very much looks the part of a Greek statue and is quick off the ball. However, he's been unable to put it together through the first two years of his career, whether it be due to injury or just inability to stuff the box score. Robinson is in a defensive line room that welcomed faces such as Kaleb Proctor and Roy Lopez this offseason — two guys who don't specifically play defensive end but will indeed factor into Arizona's nickel front, which is essentially the modern base defense anyways. Other names in Walter Nolen and Dante Stills are staples in the Cardinals' defensive line rotation with veteran L.J. Collier also back in the mix. Needless to say, Robinson is in a crowded depth chart and needs 2025 to get going before it's too late for his career. Working on his pass rush is what could make or break his job status. Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow