NC State Professional Athletes

Brissett Rewrites Cardinals History

Nobody saw the Arizona Cardinals coming in Week 1 — except maybe Jacoby Brissett.

The NC State product turned in a 277-yard, one-touchdown performance in a 26-14 dismantling of the Los Angeles Chargers, a result FanSided ranked among the most embarrassing losses of the opening weekend. The win was stunning enough on its own, but the historical footnote made it something else entirely: head coach Mike LaFleur became the first Cardinals coach to win his debut since Don Coryell in 1973. Brissett, fully aware of the moment, has been candid about what delivering that win meant to him personally.

The numbers keep looking better in context, too. Brissett's 277 yards on Sunday put him atop the NFL in passing yards since taking over as Arizona's starter — a quiet but real statement of fact in a league that dismissed him as a placeholder. Pro Football Talk flagged the stat, and the analytics crowd took notice. A QB comparison from Sports Illustrated gave Brissett the clear edge over Seattle's Drew Lock ahead of Week 2, no small thing given the Seahawks are a significant step up in competition. Brissett acknowledged as much, making what reporters called a "candid admission" about the challenge ahead.

The subplot worth watching: Marvin Harrison Jr. had just one touch in the win. Brissett addressed it directly, explaining the game plan dictated the distribution — and then turned around and hyped running back Jeremiyah Love while calling out fantasy managers who slept on Kendrick Bourne's big game. For a backup-turned-starter at 33, Brissett is commanding the room like a franchise guy. Whether he can sustain it against a tougher schedule will define Arizona's fall.

Wolfpack Scattered Across the Week 1 Ledger

Brissett wasn't the only NC State alum making noise in the opening week.

In Jacksonville, wide receiver Jakobi Meyers had a quietly productive day — two catches for 40 yards and a touchdown — as the Jaguars rolled Cleveland 34-10. The Jaguars' Week 2 injury report brought good news, with Meyers listed as a full participant, suggesting no concern heading into the Broncos matchup.

In Chicago, defensive tackle Kentavius Street got after the quarterback in the Bears' lopsided 59-37 win over Carolina, posting a sack in a game that wasn't particularly close. Street told Sports Illustrated this week that he views the Bears' pass rush inconsistency as a temporary issue — and he's putting his game where his mouth is.

Up in Buffalo, linebacker Bradley Chubb is settling into his new AFC East home after leaving Miami. He logged a sack in Thursday's primetime home opener against Detroit — a 41-31 Bills win — and spent the week raving about defensive lineman Deone Walker's "once in a lifetime" athleticism. The Bills are Super Bowl contenders, and Chubb, for the first time in years, is on a roster built to match his ambitions.

Finally, Payton Wilson factored into Pittsburgh's 20-13 win over Atlanta, with T.J. Watt singling out the NC State linebacker as a rising star on the Steelers' defense. For a player still establishing himself at the NFL level, a public co-sign from Watt carries genuine weight.

The Wolfpack footprint across the league is wide. This week, Brissett made sure everyone noticed where it started.

NC State's NFL footprint is hard to ignore heading into the 2026 season opener. From a quarterback earning a captaincy to a guard hitting the waiver wire, Wolfpack alumni are generating headlines across the league in the same week.

Jones Earns His 'C' in Indy

Daniel Jones isn't just a reclamation project anymore — he's a leader. The Indianapolis Colts named the former Giant a team captain heading into 2026, a designation Jones addressed publicly and one that carries real weight given his trajectory with the franchise. Jones arrived in 2025 as a low-risk swing and proceeded to have arguably the best season of his career before an Achilles injury derailed the Colts' playoff push. Indianapolis was forced to sign Philip Rivers — another NC State alum — off the couch to salvage what remained of the year. Now healthy and entrenched as the starter, Jones carries captain's stripes into a season where the Colts believe they have genuine contender bones. A separate Heavy Sports breakdown identified Jones as the team's X-factor heading into 2026, noting the first half of last season as a blueprint for what Indy could look like when he's upright and in rhythm.

Brissett Cashes In, Then Delivers

Out in Arizona, Jacoby Brissett is entering Week 1 with a $10 million raise and a front office that, by all accounts, no longer has buyer's remorse. The Cardinals front office took their time extending Brissett — per Heavy Sports, the raise came right as training camp was set to begin — but with just 10 days to go before their season opener against the Chargers, the organization is hearing reports that have dissolved whatever hesitation lingered. Brissett quarterbacked an Arizona offense that saw breakout production from wide receiver Michael Wilson in 2025, and the expectation is that continuity at QB gives the Cardinals a better baseline than their brutal 3–14 mark last year.

Zavala Caught in Panthers Crunch

Not every Wolfpack story this week has a clean ending. The Carolina Panthers waived guard Chandler Zavala after claiming Corey Bullock off waivers Monday, a roster math decision that nonetheless stings for the NC State product. Zavala had been part of a Panthers offensive line in the middle of a rebuild, but the Bullock addition left no room. He'll be looking for a new home as rosters settle ahead of Week 1.

Around the League

The supporting cast of NC State alumni making noise in smaller ways is notable. In Chicago, the Bears restructured guard Joe Thuney's contract to free up cap space — a signal that the organization values his presence enough to keep him on restructured terms. Separately, Yahoo Sports raised a pointed question about Bears defensive tackle Kentavius Street: head coach Dennis Allen called him the team's best DT heading into Week 1, a designation that drew skepticism from analysts given the position's depth concerns. In Pittsburgh, linebacker Payton Wilson made headlines by taking a pointed jab at the Steelers' previous coaching staff — adding a layer of personal motivation to what should already be a compelling linebacker story for a team looking to reload defensively. And in New England, defensive tackle Cory Durden is drawing attention in a Patriots scouting report that projects a bigger role in his fourth NFL season.

Seven NC State alumni generating legitimate news in the same week isn't coincidence — it's a program whose NFL pipeline is as healthy as it's been in years.