Cardinals waive QB Kedon Slovis

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Beck suffered a rib injury in the Cardinals’ Hall of Fame game against the Panthers. Despite feeling “soreness,” he managed to practice this week. The Cardinals “decided to keep him out tonight as a precaution and to allow more time to heal.” This pours a little cold water on Beck’s moderate hype, but the reporting suggests that the injury is not overly concerning. Cardinals QB Jacoby Brissett will start, and presumably be relieved by QB Kedon Slovis at some point. No word yet on QB Gardner Minshew’s potential involvement tonight.

This doesn’t tell us a whole lot. Readers might recall that the 2026 NFL Draft is next week, and the Cardinals hosted Alabama QB Ty Simpson for a top-30 visit yesterday. If the Cardinals do not draft a rookie quarterback, Jacoby Brissett will likely be the default starter, with only Gardner Minshew and Kedon Slovis joining him on the roster at this time. If that is the case, the pass catchers likely stand to benefit. Brissett was able to distribute the ball effectively last year. Rolling with a developmental rookie could hurt the receiving outlooks for TE Trey McBride, WR Michael Wilson and WR Marvin Harrison Jr.

Brissett was hurt on a third-quarter scramble. The Cardinals’ quarterback was trotting out of bounds after picking up a short gain on the ground when Jaguars LB Devin Lloyd lowered his shoulder, hitting Brissett hard, up high, from the left side. Brissett remained down after the play, and eventually made his way to the blue medical tent. He was replaced by QB Kedon Slovis.

Slovis returns to his home state of Arizona after three preseason appearances with the Texans. He completed 27-of-43 passes for 233 yards, one touchdown and one interception and rushed three times for seven yards.

Slovis was unable to make the Texans to the surprise of absolutely no one. The 24-year-old is a candidate for the practice squad of Houston or another team looking for signal-caller depth.

Daniels’ 2023 rookie season was derailed by a torn rotator cuff. His new landing spot will hopefully allow him to compete for a backup role for a Texans’ squad that was likewise hit by significant injuries last year. Also signed by the Texans on Thursday were TE Cole Fotheringham, WR Xavier Johnson, S Mark Perry and QB Kedon Slovis.

Slovis’ (6’2/223) career began at USC in 2019, but after losing the starting job to former No. 1 overall prospect Jaxson Dart in 2021, he made the jump to Pittsburgh in 2022 to replace Kenny Pickett. A down season at Pitt in which he threw for 2397-10-9 led to him transferring to BYU in 2023, where he nearly replicated those numbers (1716-12-6) over eight games played. Slovis ran a 4.55 at the NFL Scouting Combine, but his speed didn’t lead to much production as a dual threat, as he managed just 242 career rushing yards in college per PFF. Slovis could get a chance to earn a spot on the practice squad but we wouldn’t expect much more at this point.

Slovis (6'3/205) was considered one of the top quarterbacks in the nation ahead of the 2022 college football season, but fell off as turmoil built up at USC and head coach Clay Helton was fired. Not all of the misfortune should be pinned on Slovis, who could experience a resurgence as he transitions from an Air Raid system to more of a pro-style system at Pitt. Anthony Treash of Pro Football Focus recently released his Top 10 QB list, pinning Slovis as the ninth-best quarterback in all of college football. It will be interesting to see if that holds true in the fall.

Slovis (6'3/205) didn’t blow expectations out of the water in 2021 the way some anticipated he might ahead of last season, but it’s important to note the external factors -- including the firing of head coach Clay Helton early on in the season -- that created a difficult environment for Slovis to find success in. Crissy Froyd of NBC Sports EDGE and Sports Illustrated recently caught up with Slovis, who said he felt he was adjusting to a pro-style Pitt offense that features a complex run game element at a quick pace. The change in schemes could serve Slovis, who comes from an offense filled with Air Raid concepts, well. " feel like I can run this offense pretty well and do it pretty perfectly,” he said. “I try not to let other people dictate where I’m at or how good I am because I know how good I am, my coaches know how good I am and my teammates know how good I am. At the end of the day, that’s going to come to fruition and show up on the field.”

Slovis (6'3/205) didn’t have the 2021 that several anticipated he might have, but it was a tumultuous season for USC in areas that extended far beyond just the quarterback. There were bright spots, though. According to Pro Football Focus, Slovis’ 113.8 passer rating on 20-plus yard passes last season led all Pac-12 quarterbacks. He finished out the year with a 65% completion percentage, 2,153 yards, 11 touchdowns and eight interceptions.