After backup quarterback Drew Lock led the Seattle Seahawks to a one-sided 31-7 win over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 2, it’s the red birds who will have a different signal caller in their final regular season matchup of the season.
Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur announced Gardner Minshew II will take over as the team’s starting quarterback moving forward, with the decision coming just a day after he led Arizona to a heroic 33-30 overtime comeback victory over the Dallas Cowboys. Rookie Carson
Beck will serve as the backup, with Jacoby Brissett reverting to the Emergency QB3.
Minshew’s last start came in Week 16 of the 2025 season as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs, although he suffered a knee injury during it. Prior to a brief stint with Kansas City, the journeyman quarterback spent time with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Philadelphia Eagles, Indianapolis Colts and Las Vegas Raiders—where he was benched prior to Week 6 of the 2024 season after a brutal start to the year.
However, Minshew’s coming off a career-best game against Dallas, in which he stepped in during the final two minutes of the third quarter with the Cardinals trailing 17-3 and threw for 188 yards as well as three touchdowns to help Arizona improve to 3-5.
It was a glimmer of hope the team hadn’t seen under Brissett.
Despite going 1-11 as the starter in 2025, Brissett threw for 3,366 yards to go alongside 23 touchdowns and just eight interceptions, which—after a brief offseason holdout, lead to him signing a one-year, $15.5 million extension (could reach up to $21 million) with the Cardinals.
However, Arizona’s struggles persisted in 2026 and so did Brissett’s, which ultimately led to the quarterback change. Through eight starts, he recorded 1,719 yards and a 10/7 TD-INT ratio. The Cardinals went 2-5 in that span.
Although they’re turning the ball over to Minshew, he won’t have an easy go in his first start of the year set to come on the road in Week 9 against the Seahawks—who Arizona hasn’t beat since 2021. As if playing at Lumen Field wasn’t difficult enough, he’ll face head coach Mike Macdonald’s defense, who’s allowing the fewest yards and third-fewest points per game.
