Cardinals not naming QB1 ahead of training camp, but competition has ‘ramped up’

TEMPE — A lot has been made of the Arizona Cardinals’ quarterback situation this offseason.

But while just about everyone wonders how the position is going to play out in 2026, Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur isn’t focused on the QB1 conversation — or naming a starter — more than a month out from the team reporting for training camp.

 

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“Not really concerned about QB1 right now. I’m concerned about these guys all reporting on July 22. Really more concerned about the next 40 days and what these guys are doing,” LaFleur said after canceling the final day of minicamp practice on Wednesday.

“You can’t take steps backwards. That’s not the quarterback. That’s all these guys. So literally my only focus right now is that we don’t play again until September. It is June 10 right now. So, not worried about that right now.”

Whether LaFleur wants to acknowledge it or not, Arizona’s 2026 quarterback situation entered its latest chapter on Tuesday with the return of Jacoby Brissett to the Tempe practice fields.

The quarterback did nothing more than stretch and shoot the breeze with teammates amid negotiations for a new contract that pays him as the starter. The hold-in looks officially engaged. Unless something gets done financially, it’s hard to imagine Brissett playing for the franchise in 2026.

Still, many of Brissett’s teammates have gone on record that they are fully behind the quarterback as he goes through the business side of the NFL. That’s not surprising given how the team rallied around him last year once he stepped in for Kyler Murray and served as another leader within the locker room.

 

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But while Brissett has been away, the other quarterbacks have played.

Gardner Minshew II saw the majority of first-team reps throughout organized team activities and minicamp. How Brissett was earning the praise from his teammates last year is similar to how Minshew is being received in Tempe.

Rookie Carson Beck has already earned the attention of wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., who called the quarterback “a baller” who carries with him plenty of confidence. LaFleur and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett have both spoken about Beck’s maturity shining through already.

Brissett may be the reported and projected Week 1 starter, but that hasn’t stopped others in the quarterbacks room from beginning to make their case.

“I think (the quarterback competition) has been ramped up,” LaFleur said. “Every single day is a day to compete. The intensity should not change from OTAs to training camp. The only thing that happens is naturally and physically the intensity picks up, because they have pads on. You can actually play football.”

LaFleur isn’t mapping out an exact timeline of naming a starting quarterback, either.

It’s all about “letting this thing play out” for not only QB1 but the rest of the starting lineup.

Until that happens, or Brissett actually gets paid as the starter, the QB conversation is going to remain a main talking point.

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