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Gardner Minshew Named Cardinals Starting Quarterback, Carson Beck Made Backup

Brissett moves to emergency third role

Quarterback Gardner Minshew throws a pass during Sunday's game against the Cowboys.
Quarterback Gardner Minshew throws a pass during Sunday's game against the Cowboys.

Gardner Minshew II is now the Cardinals starting quarterback.

Carson Beck is now the backup quarterback, available to play in a game should the situation comes up.

And Jacoby Brissett, starter on Sunday when the Cardinals kicked off against the Cowboys, is now the emergency third quarterback and potentially a trade candidate with the NFL deadline looming next week.

"(Minshew) kind of showed all of us, in terms of going out there and being the competitor he is," coach Mike LaFleur said after announcing the depth chart shuffle. "Doesn't shock me. The production was pretty wild with the amount of points and moving up and down the field."

LaFleur said he spoke with the quarterbacks and some key players on the roster about the decision on Monday, which the players were given off after their come-from-behind win in Dallas the day before.

Minshew came into the game after one possession of the second half. He engineered four straight touchdown drives (buoyed greatly by the running of back Tyler Allgeier) and then led the Cardinals to a game-winning field goal in overtime.

He completed 17-of-23 passes (and that include three spikes to stop the clock) for 188 yards and three touchdown passes in 34 offensive snaps.

LaFleur, asked if Brissett would be on the Cardinals past the trade deadline, said he was only focused on this week. The trade deadline is Nov. 10.

And the call to let Brissett know of the change was "not easy," LaFleur said.

"That's not a fun phone call. There's no book for that. There is a human element to it. I have a lot of respect for Jacoby the person. I have a lot of respect for Jacoby the player. This was not all on him. But the position that those guys sign up for, that's the deal. We needed a spark and obviously Gardner gave us one."

LaFleur said making Beck the backup was "the right thing to do" to continue the rookie's development.

"I know he's prepared to go in there if need be," LaFleur said, adding "he has a full grasp of this game plan, of this system. It's no secret that if something were to happen, it'd be nice to know what we've got (in Beck)."

The Cardinals next play in Seattle, followed by a home game against the Rams and then a trip to Kansas City against the Chiefs.

In the previous seven years of Minshew's career, he has had extended time as a starter as a Jaguars rookie in 2019 (12 starts), in 2020 (eight starts), in 2023 with the Colts (13 starts) and in 2024 with the Raiders (nine starts).

"If you guys have ever seen 'Napoleon Dynamite,' I've always known (Gardner) could throw a pigskin a quarter mile," defensive lineman L.J. Collier said postgame. "Minshew Magic is real."

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