TEMPE — Arizona Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort and head coach Mike LaFleur kept their cards close to the vest when discussing the team’s starting quarterback on Thursday.
While LaFleur feels “really good” about the position and the combined experience Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew bring to the table, neither Ossenfort nor LaFleur were ready to definitively say either were “the guy.”
“They both have played a lot of ball. As we sit here today, we’re trying to install a system,” Ossenfort said Thursday. “We’re not really naming anybody. We’ll see how that room looks by the time we get to August.”
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“There’s certain positions that you feel really good about, and I feel really good about the quarterback position. Why? Because both those guys have played a lot of football,” LaFleur added. “None of that’s even being discussed because all we’re trying to do is get a foundational aspect of what this system looks like.”
Quarterback quickly shot up the need ranks for the Cardinals upon the departure of Kyler Murray to Minnesota this offseason.
Though they didn’t say it (and yes, I know we’re not even to the draft yet), rolling with Brissett in 2026 — which early reporting and indications lean that way — seems like the most likely move for the franchise.
Brissett knows the personnel having started 12 games for the franchise last year — getting much more out of Michael Wilson and Trey McBride in respective career years — and “looks the part” for what LaFleur envisions an NFL quarterback to be.
Winning was at a premium with Brissett under center for the Cardinals in 2025, but he shouldn’t take the full brunt of the blame for last year’s failures. He still found ways to move the offense forward despite a lackluster run game and offensive line.
When it comes to a true bridge option, Brissett fits the billing.
That leaves me with three questions:
1. Why not just name him the starter now and get it out of the way?
After all, he clearly gained the respect and approval from the locker room in his one season on the job. Giving him an extra vote of confidence wouldn’t be a bad move, either.
2. Do the Cardinals want a quarterback competition in training camp?
Again, we’re not even to the draft. And under a new head coach like LaFleur, handing out starting jobs before any competitions take place could be taken the wrong way.
He’s also spoken highly of Minshew, who has 47 starts under his belt across seven seasons.
Still, it feels like the writing is on the wall that Brissett is (and has been) the leader in the clubhouse.
3. Is the quarterbacks room still a work in progress?
Ossenfort did little to squash any of the Ty Simpson-Cardinals chatter that has flooded the draft cycle this offseason. There are also other later-round signal callers that Arizona could take a flier on that wouldn’t cost a first- or second-round pick like Simpson would.
Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort on if he would feel comfortable with Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew as the team's top two QBs heading into training camp⬇️
"I think that's where we are right now. I think with every position that we have, we're going to look to add competition.… pic.twitter.com/xc8PSuQGMd
— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) April 16, 2026
“I think that with every position that we have, we’re going to look to add competition,” Ossenfort said. “And whether that’s the draft, whether that’s after the draft, the player acquisition period never ends.
“We’re going to always look to improve every room no matter what it is. So, that’s where we are right now. Is that how it looks going into training camp? I don’t know. We’ll see.”
That we will.
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