Gardner Minshew II has a stronger case to enter the 2026 season as the Arizona Cardinals' starting quarterback than some would expect. Jacoby Brissett is the projected starter, but continues his contract holdout as he expects to be paid as such.
Alternatively, the Cardinals could embrace a full-on rebuild by declaring third-round Carson Beck the immediate starter.
But what if there's a happy middle ground between the two?
The ideal stopgap for the Cardinals would be a veteran presence to keep them competitive while prioritizing the 2027 NFL Draft. If Brissett were the long-term solution, the Cardinals would be fine giving in to those demands. If Beck were more certain, they'd feel comfortable rebuilding around him.
Neither of those are the case, making Minshew a more reasonable stopgap than many would expect.
Starting Gardner Minshew II could help the Cardinals rebuild
It's not like he's that much worse as a starter than Brissett, and the gap between the two certainly doesn't justify a three-win Cardinals team inking Brissett to a starter's salary.
Hopefully, the Cardinals front office realizes that this is a transitional season where they simply need to look ahead to the 2027 NFL Draft to land their QB of the future, whether that's Arch Manning, Dante Moore, or someone else entirely.
Giving Brissett what he wants may lead to slightly more wins, but it would also hurt their long-term outlook both financially and in terms of trying to land a top pick in 2027.
Hopefully Beck proves his worth and takes over as the starting QB to finish out the season. But in the meantime, Arizona should rely on the more proven Minshew to fill the void instead of overpaying Brissett.
It's debatable how much better Brissett is than the rest of the Cardinals' current quarterback options. But the fact is that no quarterback currently on this roster is capable of leading them to contention.
From that standpoint, the Cardinals need to look ahead to external options, particularly when it comes to next year's draft.
Using Brissett as the stopgap last season is one thing, but paying him like the starter he now expects to be paid is to ignore the fact that the Cardinals have plans well beyond him at quarterback.
Considering he's ranked as one of the worst starting quarterbacks entering the season, good luck getting paid as such elsewhere. Arizona can't let the opportunity that led to Brissett's increased value get in the way of their contention trajectory. This team isn't competing with him at quarterback, and in this case, the sooner they move on, the better.
In the meantime, the lower-maintenance Minshew can address similar roster concerns for cheaper.
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