When he first arrived in Tempe as coach of the Cardinals, Mike LaFleur was asked what qualities he liked in a quarterback for his scheme, and he noted both the ability to stand in the pocket and toughness.
To have LaFleur specifically credit incumbent starter Jacoby Brissett – and new backup Gardner Minshew II -- for those traits was not a surprise.
"I've always felt that both, in their own way, would be good fits in this system," LaFleur said Monday morning during the NFL annual meeting at the Arizona Biltmore.
The quarterback situation has been and will be the topic of conversation around LaFleur's first season. He understands that. The team has moved on from Kyler Murray – "We wish him the best," LaFleur said on that topic, "but sometimes it's time for a change on both sides" – and now heads into 2026 with Brissett, Minshew and an eye to the future.
"We had discussions (about keeping Murray) and we'll keep it at that," LaFleur said. "You name it, we were talking about it. The quarterback position is the most important position in all of sports. We know that. There were lengthy conversations in so many different aspects of it and there will continue to be until we know we have the most perfect room possible."
That can be the draft, of course. The quarterback crop is universally thought of being a step below others. The consensus second QB in the draft class after Fernando Mendoza, who will go first to the Raiders, is Alabama's Ty Simpson.
Simpson is expected to go mid-to-late first round, behind where the Cardinals pick at 3 and perhaps earlier than would be available either at the second-round spot of 34 in Round 2 for Arizona or even if they wanted to trade back into the first round.
LaFleur wasn't getting too specific on Simpson when asked about him on Monday, noting that they got 18 minutes to meet at the Scouting Combine when to truly know about a quarterback you need "18 hours, 18 days in a row."
He knows Minshew. LaFleur coached the free-agent signee at the Senior Bowl in 2019, and Minshew was amped enough for the opportunity he and LaFleur had a four-hour FaceTime before the week of practice just so Minshew could have a better understanding of the offense.
Brissett LaFleur has yet to work with. But LaFleur emphasized how much he likes Brissett's ability to stand in the pocket and his work in the play-action game. Add to that the experience he and Minshew have, and that's the part the new head coach needs the most.
"You're not teaching a guy how to play football," LaFleur said. "Jacoby knows how to play football. Now we are just teaching him our system."
The Cardinals are starting their offense from scratch, with input from a lot of sources, LaFluer said. The bulk of the playbook has been set although still a work in progress, as players return next week to the facility for the beginning of the voluntary strength and conditioning offseason program. (Teams with new coaches can start two weeks earlier than most of the NFL.)
With the offense, "we don't need to rush this process," LaFleur said.
That, for now, includes building the quarterback position as well.
"Every room, if we can improve it, we're going to try and improve it," LaFleur said. "The quarterback room all the way down to the kicking room."
EXTRA POINTS
LaFleur said he is looking forward to the pass catchers at his disposal – "They are not short on talent" – and specifically mentioned how much he is looking forward to using tight end Tip Reiman. Reiman is coming off a season-ending ankle injury. …
LaFleur, not surprisingly, wasn't specific about injury recovery for defensive lineman Walter Nolen III (knee), running back James Conner (ankle) and running back Trey Benson (knee). But he said all three were "trending well" and seemed to be optimistic about the trio.
