Everything We've Learned About Cardinals' Backup QB Battle So Far

ARIZONA — The Arizona Cardinals' quarterback situation has dominated headlines since the early days of the offseason.

That's not going to slow down anytime soon.

Jacoby Brissett signed his reworked contract and is fully set to be the team's starter ahead of 2026. For how long, nobody knows. The Cardinals, if bad as projected, will likely make a change under center at some point.

For that reason, Arizona's backup quarterback situation is still very much worth investing in for both preseason and regular season purposes.

What we've learned about the backup battle so far:

Kedon Slovis Was Always On The Outside Looking In

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kedon Slovid — Jul 23, 2026; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kedon Slovis (12) during training camp at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Slovis, who was in Arizona last season as their practice squad guy, never really had a chance to crack the active roster this year after Gardner Minshew and Carson Beck entered the picture.

Slovis practically would have needed to make a massive jump and played the best football of his life to really make the Cardinals think twice on cutting him. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened, and his football future really seems like it will be shaping up outside of Arizona after the preseason barring injury.

Gardner Minshew Has Been Slinging It

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Gardner Minshew II (15) practices during training camp at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on July 26, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

When you think of a prototypical gun-slinger at quarterback, Minshew fits that mold. He's been letting it rip in training camp, pushing the ball all across the field and taking chances. That's led to some exciting plays, though that's also led to some turnovers in the process.

Minshew's overall body of work in camp mixed with his veteran experience has placed him firmly in the QB2 spot. If Arizona were to need an alternate option besides Brissett, Minshew is undoubtedly their guy.

At this moment in time, Minshew would be the immediate replacement in the Cardinals make a swap in the regular season. However, thanks to numerous factors, Beck looms behind him — and Minshew would have to play exceptionally high to prevent the rookie from playing at all in 2026.

All The Dominoes Lead to Carson Beck

Jul 23, 2026; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Beck (19) during training camp at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

I dove exceptionally deeper on this topic (which you can read here), but the Cardinals have a massive quarterback decision looming after this season, which Beck will have an unknown amount of say in. Case in point, Arizona needs to see their most recent investment on the field as much as possible to form an opinion (one way or another).

Beck has been a second fiddle to Minshew during camp, and rightfully so. Besides Minshew getting the nod thanks to experience, Beck's overall play in training camp practices has been across the board. His start was forgettable thanks to accuracy issues, though in the last few days he's really turned a corner.

That can make for some good overreactions, but the reality is Beck is still the wildcard out of this group. At some point it feels like he'll play, though we are far removed from this.

However, all dominoes eventually lead to Beck later in the regular season.

Add us as a preferred source on Google