Cardinals to stick with Gardner Minshew, Carson Beck promoted to backup QB

The Arizona Cardinals are sticking with their change at quarterback, with head coach Mike LaFleur naming Gardner Minshew the replacement for Jacoby Brissett entering Week 9.

In addition, rookie Carson Beck has been promoted to be the backup after he went eight weeks without playing a snap.

The Cardinals started Brissett for the first eight games of the season, but late in the third quarter of a win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, LaFleur made a change.

Minshew replaced Brissett with 1:35 left in the third, and the quarterback finished the game with 188 passing yards and three touchdowns.

Brissett went 10-for-23 with 108 yards and an interception before getting benched — then Minshew kicked into gear a chain of events that flipped a 17-3 deficit into a 33-30 overtime victory.

Even with a skeleton crew offensive line and various injuries to offensive playmakers earlier in the game — a list with Jeremiyah Love, Bam Knight and Kendrick Bourne — the Arizona offense came to life, led by Minshew and running back Tyler Allgeier.

Beck, meanwhile, was inactive as the emergency quarterback for the eighth straight game.

Across five different stops in the quarterback’s seven-year career, Minshew is 17-30 as a starter.

And while Minshew hasn’t logged any regular-season snaps up to this point, the veteran isn’t completely flying Arizona’s offense blind, having helped install the unit with LaFleur and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett this offseason while Brissett was undergoing contract talks.

He led the way through organized team activities, minicamp and was planning to do so at camp up until Brissett got his deal done.

Brissett made 20 starts across the last two seasons for Arizona and negotiated a new contract as he entered 2026 as the projected starter, earning him a guaranteed $15.5 million.

He went 1-11 last season in games he started in 2025 and 2-5 this season before he was benched Sunday.

The Cardinals have a tough schedule over the next three weeks, as they visit the Seattle Seahawks, host the Los Angeles Rams and go on the road to play the Kansas City Chiefs.

Tyler Drake and Alex Weiner contributed to this story.

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