Report: Cardinals, Brissett agree to terms on deal

After holding out part of the offseason for a new deal that was fitting for a starting QB in the league, Brissett now finds himself as the QB3 of the Cardinals entering Week 9. There’s a good chance this is the end of the road for Brissett as far as his time with the Cardinals is concerned, as a handful of dire QB situations around the league could warrant a trade to a contender who is looking to upgrade at QB before the trade deadline. Brissett was solid last season for a three-win Cardinals team, throwing for 3,366 yards, 23 touchdowns, and eight interceptions in 12 starts. He currently sports a 1,719-10-7 line this season but has struggled in his last three starts, throwing just one touchdown to two interceptions. With Brissett being demoted to QB3, rookie Carson Beck will be elevated to QB2 on game days, and draws ever closer to making his first career start at some point in the season.

After leading a second-half comeback against the Cowboys in which he threw for 188 yards and three touchdowns on 17-of-23 passing, the move to Minshew felt inevitable. Now, the eighth-year journeyman will have a chance to make his first start for the Cardinals in what’s sure to be a tough road matchup against the Seahawks. Minshew has long proved his value as a serviceable backup in the league and should provide enough to keep the fantasy stocks of Trey McBride and Michael Wilson up, but he could be in for a tough outing against a top-flight Seahawks defense. He shouldn’t be treated as anything more than a desperation streamer in 2QB/superflex leagues, while Wilson’s expectations should fall somewhere in the WR3 range.

Minshew appeared to get better blocking and be more accurate and on-time with his passes than Jacoby Brissett. He also got a few major long gains from Tyler Allgeier en route to rallying the Cardinals from a 17-3 deficit. Minshew should have had a walkoff 13-yard touchdown pass to Michael Wilson with six seconds left, but kicker Chad Ryland missed the extra point. In overtime, after an initial three-and-out, Minshew completed just one pass as Wilson and Allgeier ran the Cardinals into field-goal range for the win. Hard to see how the Cardinals would bench Minshew after how this looked, though he certainly shouldn’t be considered a firm rest-of-season starter just yet. Minshew Mania will likely figure into the QB2 superflex mix in Week 9.

He took four sacks, including back-to-back sacks to kill a third-quarter drive, before being replaced. Brissett hasn’t necessarily played this poorly all season, but we’d been getting plenty of questions at press conferences about if he’d remain the starter so we’re ultimately unsurprised by this move. Minshew took over and we assume Carson Beck will also be mentioned ahead of Week 9. Full Mike LaFleur press conference coverage to come, naturally.

The Cardinals’ No. 3 quarterback has been dealing with back spasms in recent weeks, likely delaying his rookie season debut. Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur said Beck threw the ball well on Tuesday. Today, they will see how things go. Stay tuned.

Brissett struggled to get the deep ball going in this game and was largely stuck dinking and dunking his way down the field. He averaged a measly 5.7 yards per attempt while completing 56.3 percent of his passes. Brissett hasn’t averaged seven yards per attempt in a game since Week 1. Even worse is the fact that he’s taking bone-crushing hits more than ever. Brissett injured his non-throwing hand while taking a sack late in the second quarter but never missed any time with the issue. We expect him to make an appearance on the injury report this week. Head coach Mike LaFleur told reporters after the game that Brissett remains the starter, meaning he’ll take on a terrible Dallas defense next week. He will be a priority streamer for Week 8.

Beck left Thursday’s practice with back spasms and was listed as a DNP. Head coach Mike LaFleur said he was not overly concerned about the injury and that he doesn’t believe it will be anything long-term. Beck’s injury shouldn’t change his Week 7 availability, as he has been the emergency QB3 all season. He was officially listed as questionable to play.

Beck appeared on the injury report last Friday, as a limited participant. He remained limited on Wednesday and was downgraded today. Beat reporters saw him at practice briefly, but he ended up going inside with a trainer. This could help preserve Jacoby Brissett’s job security. Stay tuned.

Brissett threw an interception to Rams S Quentin Lake while targeting Trey McBride on the Cardinals’ third play from scrimmage but managed to play mistake-free and touchdown-free football from there on out. Brissett took zero sacks for the first time this season and linked up with four different players for explosive gains. That said, the box score results obviously disappoint. Brissett nearly linked up with Michael Wilson for a 36-yard touchdown on the Cardinals’ seventh drive, but the ball glanced off Wilson’s fingertips as he dove for it in the end zone. The drive ultimately resulted in a field goal, as did five others. Brissett will be a high-end QB2 against the Broncos in Week 7.

Cardinals fans appear to be pining for the team to bench Jacoby Brissett and start the rookie in the coming weeks as another season circles the drain for Arizona. Beck so far has been the Cards’ emergency third quarterback. Urban said there remains a “chance Beck is made the backup this week or next and allow him to come on in relief if the situation presents itself. I don’t see Beck starting in the immediate future, but it does feel his time grows closer, and if the offense continues to sputter, that would be understandable.” Brissett this season ranks 15th in passing yards. He’s thrown nine touchdowns to five interceptions and ranks 30th out of 37 qualifying QBs in adjusted yards per attempt. He won’t be a viable fantasy play this week against a tough Rams coverage unit.