Cardinals name Gardner Minshew starter after Jacoby Brissett benching

The Cardinals are turning over the starting quarterback job to Gardner Minshew. 

The wild turn of events comes after Minshew helped spearhead a comeback win over the Cowboys in overtime on Sunday as the journeyman QB came in during the third quarter to take over for Jacoby Brissett. 

The Cardinals are facing the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks next week. 

With Minshew, 30, now taking over as the starter, rookie Carson Beck will move into the backup role, and Brissett will drop down all the way to the emergency third quarterback.

“I think he kind of showed all of us in terms of him going out there being the competitor that he is,” Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur told reporters on Monday about what Minshew showed him to make this move. “Doesn’t shock me obviously. The production was pretty wild in terms of the amount of points and just moving up and down the field. But, he’s a competitor and he’s always prepared. He’s preparing like he’s the starter. He’s preparing like he’s going to be in there for whatever snap. 

“He supported Jacoby at a high level, too. He’s been a great backup for him, been great for the room and look forward to the challenge that we have this week with him.”

Moving Beck into the backup role was “the right thing to do” in order to continue his development, LaFleur explained. 

Brissett’s demotion raises questions about whether he’ll remain on the team past the trade deadline. 

LaFleur did not say if he expected to still have Brissett post-Nov. 10, saying that the team was “only focused on this week.” 

Brissett completed 10-of-23 passes for 119 yards and an interception during his start against Dallas before he was pulled from the game. 

“It’s not a fun phone call,” LaFleur said. “There’s no book for that obviously. There’s 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. Like I told you guys yesterday, it was not all on him. This was collective and starting with me, but the position that those guys sign up for, we know the deal and we needed a spark and, obviously, Gardner gave us one.”

Sunday was Minshew’s first appearance in 2026 and he completed 17 passes for 188 yards and three touchdowns in the comeback win.