Cardinals To Start Gardner Minshew In Week 9

Arizona is demoting Brissett to the No. 3 QB spot, LaFleur added (via AZCardinals.com’s Darren Urban), clearing a path for third-round rookie Carson Beck. With the Cardinals connected to eyeing a quarterback trade, Brissett clearly looks like the odd man out ahead of the deadline.

With Beck moving up to the QB2 level, he can be inserted into the game without an injury being necessary. As the emergency QB3, the recent CFP national championship game starter was not eligible for such work. With the Cardinals likely preparing to take a long look at the quarterbacks who will be available in the 2027 draft, it makes sense for the team to give Beck some time this season. With Brissett falling two spots on the depth chart, his time seeing game action in Arizona could be over.

Minshew guided a frantic comeback to give the Cardinals an overtime win over the Cowboys, with the extra period coming after Chad Ryland missed a game-winning extra point in regulation. Arizona’s backup QB, with a heavy assist from Tyler Allgeier, gave Ryland a redemption opportunity to seal the 33-30 win. Minshew has made 47 career starts. It looks like a few more could be coming his way, though the Beck component is rather key here.

Setting aside the Cardinals’ top two quarterbacks for the season’s second half, Brissett looks to be squarely on the trade block. LaFleur did not indicate the Cards would cut Brissett, which obviously leaves the door open for a deal coming together over the next week. The trade deadline comes at 3pm CT on November 10. Brissett has journeyed the league during his 11-year career, but he has only been traded once (from the Patriots to the Colts in 2017).

While Minshew had been rumored as a trade candidate, the 30-year-old passer — on a one-year, $5.75MM deal — looks set to stay in Arizona. Brissett, whose starter status allowed him to command a raise (to $15.5MM), may join a seventh NFL team soon. Former Cardinals QBs coach Israel Woolfork is in the same job with the Ravens, as The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec reminds. Baltimore placed Lamar Jackson on IR and lost Tyler Huntley to a toe injury in its Week 8 loss. Other teams will surely check in on Brissett, but the Ravens may be the most desperate.

The Eagles also lost their starting QB (Jalen Hurts), though they are not exactly — at 2-6 — in a buyer position. The Vikings have not seen quality play from Kyler Murray yet, but a pre-Week 8 report indicated Minnesota is still bullish on the offseason pickup. Murray and Brissett were teammates in Arizona last year, with the latter’s promotion — amid a messy Murray injury process — helping lead to the former No. 1 pick’s offseason ouster.

Brissett, though, is the player tied to a more expensive contract now. Murray is on a vet-minimum deal in Minnesota; Brissett is tied to a $9.7MM base salary. An acquiring team would need to pay just more than $5MM if it were to make the trade this week. Though, the rebuilding Cardinals would probably be willing to pay down part of Brissett’s money to facilitate a better return.

Brissett, 33, is averaging just 5.6 yards per attempt and is completing 63.3% of his passes. He threw a pick-six before being benched Sunday. The career-long emergency starter/stopgap has made 73 career starts. He certainly would attract interest from teams who have run into QB trouble this season.

Beck was viewed as a pro-ready prospect, albeit one without the ceiling Fernando Mendoza and Ty Simpson brought in this year’s draft class, and the Cardinals are eyeing a late-season audition. Minshew will lead LaFleur’s offense for now, as the team does have three wins, but it is difficult to see the team ending the season — especially if Brissett is off the roster soon — without getting an extended look at the rookie.

Minshew will soon start for a sixth NFL team. The former Jaguars sixth-rounder has made starts with Jacksonville, Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Las Vegas and Kansas City from 2019-25. He has compiled a 71:35 TD-INT ratio, with a career 6.9-yard average per attempt. Sunday, Minshew threw three TD passes during 188-yard performance that erased a 14-point second-half deficit.