After going 1-11 in 12 starts for the Cardinals in 2025, quarterback Jacoby Brissett has been staying away from team activities as he attempts to land a starter-level extension. According to NFL insider Jason La Canfora, though, Brissett will more likely end up being a trade candidate.
With Brissett in line for Year 2 and a backup passer with starting experience in Gardner Minshew, many thought Arizona would spend the first year of new head coach Mike LaFleur tanking its way to as high a draft pick as possible in 2027 in an attempt to land the best of a better crop of quarterbacks than what was available this year. It was presumed that the Cardinals would utilize this year’s draft to bring in a number of strong supporting pieces to prop up their future rookie starter.
Instead, the team took an interestingly different route. When they reportedly were unable to find an offer they deemed worthy of trading out of the No. 3 overall pick for, they opted to select RB1 Jeremiyah Love. They did get around to landing a plug-and-play starting guard at the top of the second round in Chase Bisontis, but with the first pick of the third round, the Cardinals shocked a number of analysts by drafting Miami quarterback Carson Beck, the third passer to come off the board in the 2026 draft class.
Though he heard his name called two rounds after first overall pick Fernando Mendoza, who beat him head-to-head in the College Football Playoff national championship game four months ago, Beck’s six years in college had some evaluators believing he was the most pro-ready passer in the class. Once Beck was wearing a red hat, an NFL general manager reportedly told La Canfora that Arizona would “move Brissett by the (trade) deadline.”
Even if Brissett isn’t traded away immediately, the theory seems clear. If this GM is correct, at some point, Beck would take over as the starter. As a third-round, pro-ready prospect with the top rookie running back and an improved offensive line, there’s a chance Beck could find success and show potential as the team’s future at the position. If such a hypothetical ends up being too far out of reach to become reality and Beck’s starting run leads them to a poor record and a high draft pick, then the Cardinals would be perfectly in line to draft a first-round quarterback in 2027.
Fueling that idea a bit further, recent whispers that veteran free agent quarterback Aaron Rodgers may be considering Arizona as a future home appear to be nothing more than rumors. ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss reached out to a source recently to gauge the reality of this possibility, and his source claimed it was “not at all” real. If Rodgers stays away and Brissett gets shipped out, Beck may end up starting as a rookie as the Cardinals make moves to find their QB for the future.
The Cards are a laughable franchise. They went w/ two 30+ year old career backups to start & drafted a guy with elbow/arm damage in the 3rd starting in 2026 really? Trade back and get depth picks last month & get picks to trade up next year. Next year Goodell ‘With another top 5 pick the Cards draft….’. April 2027.
Can only trade back if someone is willing to trade up. Reports were multiple teams in the 2-5 range wanted to trade down but there were no offers to be had. Also hard to judge there QB situation considering it was a 1 QB draft. I’m sure they and their whole fan base would be thrilled to have a top 5 pick in next year’s QB heavy draft.