The Arizona Cardinals have turned their quarterback room upside down after Sunday’s dramatic comeback against the Dallas Cowboys.
What started the week with Jacoby Brissett as the starter, Gardner Minshew as the backup and rookie Carson Beck as the emergency third quarterback now looks completely different. On Monday, head coach Mike LaFleur said Minshew will take over as the starter, Beck will move up to No. 2, and Brissett has been pushed all the way down to the third-string role.
That last part is the stunner. Brissett had been Arizona’s starter for most of the last two seasons, so the demotion to emergency quarterback stands out as the biggest surprise in the shuffle.
Brissett’s numbers through the first seven games of the season were not disastrous, but he struggled badly against Dallas before Minshew took over and changed everything. Minshew completed 73.9% of his passes and threw three touchdown passes, powering the Cardinals from a 27-17 deficit with 3:54 left to a 33-30 overtime win. The victory moved Arizona to 3-5.
Now the Cardinals are handing the offense to a quarterback with a long NFL trail behind him. Minshew, 30, entered the league as a 2019 sixth-round pick and has spent time with Jacksonville, Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Las Vegas and Kansas City before landing in Arizona this season. His best run came in 2023, when he went 7-6 as the Colts’ starting quarterback and earned his first Pro Bowl selection.
Beck’s rise to the No. 2 job also gives Arizona a different look behind Minshew. The 2026 third-round pick flashed in the preseason, going 15-of-19 for 188 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. His college résumé includes a big 2025 season at Miami that finished with an appearance in the College Football Playoff National Championship.
Minshew’s first start for the Cardinals will come next Sunday in Seattle against the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks.
Brissett’s future is now the other major question hanging over the move. LaFleur would not commit when asked about what comes next for him beyond this week, which is often a sign that a player could be on the move. The demotion only adds to that possibility.
The Ravens immediately come to mind as a possible destination. Baltimore is dealing with a quarterback crisis after Lamar Jackson suffered a possible season-ending injury, and backup Tyler Huntley is also expected to miss time after hurting his toe in Sunday’s loss to the Bills. That leaves undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano as the only healthy quarterback on the roster.
If Baltimore wants to keep its season afloat, it needs help under center, and Brissett would give it that. He could step in as the new starter or at least provide a workable backup once Huntley is cleared.
A trade between the two teams looks straightforward on paper: the Ravens need a quarterback, and the Cardinals have one they are no longer using. Any deal would have to get done before the league’s Nov. 10 trade deadline.
Still, both sides would have to be realistic. Baltimore is not likely to pay a premium for a quarterback who just lost his job, and Arizona should not expect a big return for Brissett. The Ravens also have to weigh how much of a difference he can really make with Jackson out and a division full of winning teams standing in the way.
Even so, it would be a surprise if the Ravens and Cardinals did not at least talk about Brissett. A sixth-round pick would seem fair from the outside, or perhaps a fifth-round pick in exchange for Brissett and a seventh-round pick. Either way, Arizona should not expect much back for a quarterback whose time there has fallen short of expectations.
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Budda Baker Trade Buzz Puts Cardinals Fans On Edge
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The speculation comes at a time when the Cardinals are widely expected to be active sellers, with other players potentially on the move as the deadline nears. Baker has already acknowledged the business side of the NFL, which is why the rumor mill has felt especially uneasy for fans, even if there is still a strong sense around the league that this is a situation worth watching rather than assuming it will end with a deal. [Read more 🡒]