Cardinals playmakers believe offseason work will lead to smooth transition to Gardner Minshew

TEMPE — Gardner Minshew working with the Arizona Cardinals’ starters in practice on Wednesday sparked a familiar feeling.

Minshew has been the backup all season after signing as a free agent, but when Jacoby Brissett was negotiating a new contract during the offseason, Minshew was stacking what turned out to be important reps to build rapport with Arizona’s top playmakers.

For that reason, practice on Wednesday felt pretty natural despite Arizona going through what can be an extreme change of making a midseason quarterback switch.

“I definitely think those offseason reps paid off,” wide receiver Michael Wilson said on Wednesday. “I said this after the game, but we probably banked 500, 600 reps between all of the reps at OTAs, all of the routes we did, both with the team and by ourselves. Had we not done all that work, I don’t think it would have looked as seamless as it did in the critical situations in that game on Sunday.”

“He was there all OTAs, so I got plenty of work with him,” tight end Trey McBride said. “It’s not foreign. It’s not something I’m not used to.”

It looked like Minshew and his pass catchers were on the same page during Sunday’s 33-30 comeback win over the Dallas Cowboys.

Minshew made his Arizona debut with a 17-for-23, three-touchdown performance after entering the game late in the third quarter. His effort led to the Cardinals keeping him as the starter, moving Carson Beck to the backup role and reportedly trading Brissett to the quarterback-needy Baltimore Ravens. Brissett had started the previous 20 games for Arizona.

“(Minshew) knew the offense just as well as Jacoby, so, it’s not like he’s unknown or this is his first time running the show,” McBride said. “He’s prepared.”

Gardner Minshew’s mindset

Minshew came into the 2026 season in a bit of an awkward position.

He was the backup to a fellow journeyman veteran while a rookie third-rounder was waiting in the wings. Beck has been the backup quarterback who has drawn the most talk from fans and media all season, the most anticipation.

Don’t the Cardinals have to see what the rookie can offer? Shouldn’t they just transition straight from Brissett to Beck?

Minshew admitted that there were times when he wondered how he fit into the equation of this Cardinals’ season, but he has been in uncertain spots throughout his career and learned how to manage them.

“I think over time, that’s one of the things you learn to handle better,” Minshew said on Wednesday. “I think everybody at this stage was the best wherever they came from. … It is a different circumstance, and everybody wants to be the guy out there. But you only have so much control over that. So focusing on the things that you can’t control is always a challenge, and I feel like I’m proud of the way I did that this year.”

Although he has never been a starter anywhere for especially long, this is Minshew’s eighth NFL campaign, and he now has an opportunity to start at least one game in all of them.

Minshew nearly ended up as Alabama’s third-string quarterback as a graduate student who would eventually move over to the coaching side. But he took a leap of faith with Mike Leach and Washington State at a critical inflection point early in his playing career.

He became a sixth-round pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2019, unsure he would even make the team, yet he started 12 games as a rookie. He is 17-30 as a starter in the NFL, with highs that have been labeled “Minshew Mania” but not the sustainability to remain a starter. He has played for six franchises.

How long Minshew remains the Cardinals’ starter is another question mark in his career considering Beck’s presence, but the veteran is looking forward to his chance to go compete. The quarterback explained he has made the effort to provide a positive voice and energy in the locker room, which he said does not stop now that his role has changed.

“People ask, and it’s really not that different,” Minshew said when asked what these past few days have been like. “Show up here, try to get better, try to lead the boys, you know? Went to the zoo yesterday with my wife and baby. It was awesome. It’s the same stuff. The position’s different. There’s different demands there. But just trying to be the same guy, same energy, same work and now just have the chance to lead and help us get a win.”

He added about leadership: “As you’re put in tough situations, you learn about yourself. I’ve learned that things for me is sometimes just making guys smile, make guys happy to be at practice, look guys in the eye when it’s time to go compete and then just lead from the front with a great energy and work ethic, I guess.”

The Cardinals are giving Minshew a difficult assignment this week against the Seattle Seahawks, an important moment in this season with the trade deadline next week and Arizona holding a 3-5 record.

The team wanted a spark when it turned the keys over to Minshew last week, and the Cardinals blazed through the Cowboys late in the game. Can that rapport Minshew has built on the practice field and during crunch time in Dallas keep the flames going?

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