The Arizona Cardinals are 2-5 and quickly falling out of the NFC playoff picture. They'd be wise to turn to Carson Beck at quarterback sooner rather than later, giving the third-round rookie enough time to prove himself before potentially readdressing the position in next year's draft.
The silver lining to the Cardinals' struggles is that they will be in prime position to take a quarterback with a top-ten pick. ESPN's Field Yates recently projected three quarterbacks to be selected in the top ten of his 2027 NFL Mock Draft: Drew Mestemaker (Oklahoma State), CJ Carr (Notre Dame), Trinidad Chambliss (Ole Miss). He even has the Cardinals selecting Chambliss with the No. 9 overall pick, hopefully addressing the position once and for all.
Cardinals should start Carson Beck for evaluation purposes
But before they spend that coveted draft capital on the position, Arizona might as well evaluate Beck to make sure they don't already have the answer. They should trade one of Jacoby Brissett or Gardner Minshew before the Nov. 10 deadline. Rostering both veterans is redundant, and with both on expiring deals, it makes sense for Arizona to see if they can at least get something in return. Even if it's not much draft capital, it's still better than letting them walk in free agency for nothing.
Between the two, it's Minshew that's likely easier to move given his cheap contract. Arizona reworked Brissett's contract over the offseason, and he's now on a fully guaranteed $15.5 million one-year deal. That was a questionable decision at the time, and it's aged even worse now that it's become a hurdle for the Cardinals to get anything in return.
Whether it's Minshew or Brissett, Arizona needs to explore trades and move off the veteran they can get more value for. It's only a matter of time before they turn to Beck, and trading a veteran to clear the path would signal the Cardinals are moving forward in their quarterback search.
Why don't they call up the 2-5 Philadelphia Eagles to see if they want an upgrade over Tanner McKee in Jalen Hurts' absence? The Brissett experience isn't great in Arizona, but my selling point to Philadelphia is that he needs the right environment. He'd look better with an improved offensive line and Saquon Barkley.
Part of the reason it's been a long season already in Arizona is the offensive line injuries, and Brissett's inability to think/run on the move is proving to be a poor fit. The improvisation is missing from this offense.
That's not great for Beck's chances of succeeding in this offense, unfortunately. But if he defies those odds, at least Arizona knows they have a legitimate building block. If not, it's back to the draft. And hopefully, by trading Brissett or Minshew before the deadline, they can add another pick or two to continue improving that infrastructure.
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