Who Will Win The Arizona Cardinals’ QB Competition?

While Brissett and Minshew have lots of NFL experience, Carson Beck had plenty of experience in college, posting a 37-6 starting record. Beck spent the first five seasons of his career at Georgia before transferring to Miami for the 2025 season. Beck was excellent for the Hurricanes last year, throwing for 3,813 yards, 30 touchdowns and 12 interceptions with a 72.4% completion rate. Beck was consistently clutch, helping lead Miami to an appearance in the national championship game. Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort believes Beck’s college experience bodes well for a better pro transition.

“I think when you see a player who has had big-game experience, when you make this transition to the NFL, there’s more hope that it’s not going to be too big for them, right?” Ossenfort said, per ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss. “So, it's not going to be a deer in the headlights.”

While Ossenfort sees Beck getting acclimated to professional football quicker than the average rookie, there’s a wait-and-see approach to how quickly he’ll rise up the quarterback depth chart.

“We’ve got two guys that have played and started a lot of games in the NFL in Jacoby and Gardner. I think that’s gonna be a great competition,” Ossenfort explained, “We’ll add him in here, and we’ll bring him in and see how much he can handle. We’ll just see how that competition plays out in that room. In the end, the guy who’s gonna give us the best chance to win that’s who’s gonna be out there on Sundays.”

While Beck could be the longshot to start among him, Brissett and Minshew, there’s currently a contract situation hanging over Brissett’s status with the team. NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reported that Brissett didn’t attend the first portion of offseason voluntary workouts and is “asking for an extension that pays him as the starter” with a $9.06 million salary next year with just $1.5 million guaranteed. Brissett put up respectable numbers last season with 23 passing touchdowns and eight interceptions, but had a 1-11 record as starter.

If Brissett’s contract issues are resolved and he’s Arizona’s starter, Beck could still wind up as the backup if he impresses the team this offseason and performs better than Gardner Minshew. Minshew signed with the Cardinals in March and has a 17-30 career starting record. When Beck spoke with the media, he realizes he’ll have to get to work and prove he’s capable of leading the Cardinals’ offense.

“Obviously, it’s super different and I’ve got to put my nose to the grindstone and work, and that’s something that I've always done,” Beck said. “And something that I'll continue to do and make sure that I have the right approach. And I feel like that's something I've been able to do well over my years in college and hopefully something that I continue to do at the next level.”