Earlier this month, free-agent quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was reportedly “weighing a few options.”
One of those options includes not playing for anyone.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports that Garoppolo is considering retirement.
Garoppolo, 34, was a second-round pick of the Patriots in 2014. Traded to the 49ers, Garoppolo became the starter immediately. He signed after his first season a contract that made him, at the time, the highest-paid player in the NFL.
After the 2022 season, Garoppolo signed with the Raiders as a free agent. He then went to the Rams for 2024 and 2025.
The Cardinals had been linked to Garoppolo in free agency. A snag during contract talks resulted in the Cardinals signing Gardner Minshew.
The Rams, who have only Matthew Stafford and Stetson Bennett on the roster, continue to be interested in Garoppolo.
For now, Garoppolo has to decide whether he’s interested in playing for what would be a 13th NFL season.
Cardinals Clips
Most teams have a clear starting quarterback, obvious contenders for the job, or (at a minimum) concepts of a plan for the position.
The Cardinals, by all appearances, have none of the above.
G.M. Monti Ossenfort made clear this week that the Cardinals don’t have a starter. And to the extent a competition will be unfolding during the offseason program, Jacoby Brissett won’t be there unless and until he gets a new contract.
The other in-house options, for now, are Gardner Minshew and Kedon Slovis.
Before free agency started, Jimmy Garoppolo was linked to Arizona. The Cardinals pivoted to Minshew when talks with Garoppolo broke down.
Garoppolo remains available. Aaron Rodgers is on the market, too. (It’s hard to imagine him having any interest in the team that is stuck in a division with the Seahawks, Rams, and 49ers.) Derek Carr has made noise about a possible unretirement, but he wants to play for a contender. The Cardinals can’t fairly be described with that label.
That leaves the draft. Unless the Cardinals trade up to No. 1 (which is highly unlikely at this point, but not impossible), the next best option is Ty Simpson. They could, in theory, trade down and take Simpson in a lower spot. And there could be a team that sufficiently covets running back Jeremiyah Love to try to leapfrog the Titans at No. 4.
Other available free-agent options with starting experience include Russell Wilson and Tyrod Taylor. Most of the others have signed contracts to be backups (Carson Wentz, Joe Flacco) and a bridge starter (Kirk Cousins, if/when the Raiders take Fernando Mendoza).
As the cliche-because-it’s-true saying goes, you’re either getting better or you’re getting worse. At quarterback, there’s no indication that the Cardinals are getting better at the most important position on the team. And there’s no sign they have a clear plan for doing so.
Maybe the overriding plan, if there is one, is to accept reality for 2026 and allow nature to take its course. The prize could be dibs on whoever the top quarterback is after the 2026 college football season.
The popular assumption is that it will be Arch Manning. As we’ve seen, however, the player who emerges as the consensus number one for the next year could be a player no one is even thinking about currently. It happened with Mendoza. It happened with Joe Burrow.
Beyond the six games to be played within the NFC West, the Cardinals will face the four teams of the AFC West (which produced two playoff teams in 2025 and still includes the Chiefs), the four teams of the NFC East, and the Lions (who finished last in the NFC North). That’s a recipe for earning the first overall pick in 2027.
Not having a clear plan at quarterback becomes a key ingredient in the stew of factors that could position Arizona for its next shot at a generational talent without having to try very hard to make that happen, once the 2026 season launches.
There’s no suspense about who the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft will be, as the Raiders haven’t hidden their plans to take Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. The suspense begins at No. 2.
And at the moment, Ohio State edge rusher Arvell Reese is the favorite to be the second overall pick in the draft. Multiple sports books now have Reese in the range of a -135 to -150 favorite. Texas Tech edge rusher David Bailey, who had previously been favored to go No. 2, is now an underdog in the +100 to +110 range.
The Jets own the No. 2 pick and recently canceled a planned visit with Bailey. Reese did take a visit to the Jets’ facility. The shift in odds may come from a perception that the Jets canceling the visit means they’re not taking Bailey.
But that’s not necessarily a good read on the situation. It could just as easily be that the Jets have already decided they like Bailey so much that they know they’re taking him and don’t need to use one of their 30 league-permitted visits on him. If you’ve already decided to hire someone, there’s no need to call him in for another job interview.
Reese and Bailey are considered the two best pass rushers in this draft, and the one who doesn’t go second may go third. We’ll find out on Thursday night.
The Cardinals haven’t named Jacoby Brissett their starting quarterback, but he reportedly would like a contractual commitment from the team that reflects the chance that he’ll be under center in Week 1.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Brissett has not been in attendance for the first phase of the team’s offseason program. The work is voluntary, so Brissett won’t be fined for his absence.
Brissett closed out last season as the starter and is reportedly looking for a new contract that provides him with more security than his current pact. Brissett is due to make a base salary of $4.88 million in 2026 with $1.5 million of that compensation is guaranteed.
Per the report, the Cardinals appear willing to address Brissett’s contract but it’s unclear when that might happen or what that might look like.
Gardner Minshew is the other option at quarterback in Arizona at the moment. General Manager Monti Ossenfort said on Thursday that the team will “see how that room works by the time we get to August” when asked about who will start and next week’s draft could bring another player into the mix.
Word in March was that Jacoby Brissett has not been told that he is in line to start at quarterback for the Cardinals and nothing has changed over the last few weeks.
Brissett closed out last season as the starter in Arizona and Kyler Murray was released early in the offseason, but Brissett’s experience came under a different head coach and General Manager Monti Ossenfort said at a Thursday press conference that the team is “not really naming anybody and we’ll see how that room works by the time we get to August.”
Gardner Minshew signed with the team as a free agent and head coach Mike LaFleur said that the current focus for both quarterbacks is on things other than the depth chart.
“Right now, none of that is even being discussed because all we’re trying to do is get a foundational aspect of what the system looks like,” LaFleur said.
LaFleur said he’s comfortable with the makeup of the quarterback room because both Brissett and Minshew have played a lot of football over their previous stops around the league. The Cardinals could add another signal caller with less experience in next week’s draft and the coming competition would be a wider one as a result.
Though they have a new head coach, the Cardinals are not planning to have a new left tackle anytime soon.
Per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, Arizona has exercised its fifth-year option on Paris Johnson Jr.
Johnson is now set to make a little over $19 million guaranteed for the 2027 season.
The No. 6 overall pick in the 2023 draft, Johnson has started every one of his 43 appearances over the last three seasons. In 2025, he stated 12 games due to a knee injury.
Johnson is extension eligible, having completed his third season. It stands to reason that the Cardinals would like to get a second contract with him done sooner than later.
The NFL has announced the names of the current and former players that will take part in next week’s draft by announcing second-round picks.
The list includes players associated with all 32 teams, including Cardinals running back James Conner. Conner has strong ties to the Pittsburgh area after playing for the Steelers and attending Pitt, which likely made him an easy choice as the Cardinals’ representative.
Former Bears tackle Jimbo Covert, former Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett, former Chiefs defensive lineman Bill Maas, current Vikings tackle Brian O’Neill, former Jets running back Curtis Martin, and former 49ers punter Andy Lee are other Pitt alums who are set to take part.
The hometown team will be represented by four players. Former Steelers Jerome Bettis and John Stallworth will be joined by Joey Porter Sr. and Jr. next Friday.
The other players taking part and their team affiliations appear below:
Falcons: Michael Turner
Ravens: Mark Ingram
Bills: Shane Conlan
Panthers: Jake Delhomme
Bengals: Ken Anderson
Browns: Phil Dawson
Cowboys: Drew Pearson
Broncos: T.J. Ward
Lions: Calvin Johnson
Packers: John Kuhn
Texans: Billy Miller
Colts: Pat McAfee
Jaguars: Paul Posluszny
Raiders: Matt Millen
Chargers: Shawne Merriman
Rams: Tavon Austin
Dolphins: Dwight Stephenson
Patriots: Deion Branch
Saints: Marques Colston
Giants: Osi Umenyiora
Eagles: Brian Westbrook
Seahawks: Cliff Avril
Buccaneers: Ronde Barber
Titans: Jeffery Simmons
Commanders: Mark Rypien
The Cardinals are taking a look at another quarterback with the draft on the way next week.
Per Field Yates of ESPN, former Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson is visiting with Arizona on Wednesday.
Regarded as one of the top quarterbacks in this year’s class after Fernando Mendoza, Simpson started 15 games for the Crimson Tide in 2025. He finished the season having completed 64.5 percent of his passes for 3,567 yards with 25 touchdowns and five interceptions.
That was Simpson’s only season starting for Alabama, as he was behind Bryce Young and Jalen Milroe.
The Cardinals have been active in looking at quarterbacks for this year’s draft, also meeting with Penn State’s Drew Allar this week.
Arizona currently has Jacoby Brissett, Garner Minshew, and Kedon Slovis on the roster at QB.
The Cardinals are taking a closer look at a quarterback prospect for this year’s draft.
Per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, former Penn State quarterback Drew Allar took a pre-draft visit with Arizona on Tuesday.
Before the start of the 2025 season, Allar was a co-favorite to go No. 1 overall with LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier. But the year did not go as planned for either QB, with Aller suffering a season-ending ankle injury midway through the year.
He said at the scouting combine in February that his ankle was on the mend and felt like he could play if he had to at that time.
Allar also reportedly worked out for the Jets in March.
A Northeast Ohio native, Allar started 35 games for Penn State with 45 total appearances over four seasons. In 2025, Allar completed 64.8 percent of his throws for 1,100 yards with eight touchdowns and three interceptions. In 2024, Allar completed 66.5 percent of his throws for 3,327 yards with 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 16 games.
The Cardinals currently have Jacoby Brissett, Gardner Minshew, and Kedon Slovis on their roster at quarterback.
Former NFL head coach Dave McGinnis died Monday, the Titans announced. “Coach Mac,” as he was affectionately known, was 74.
“My heart aches with the loss of Coach Mac, who was so much more than a coach and broadcaster. He was family,” Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk said in a statement. “Coach Mac gave so much of himself to this organization over the years, and his passion, loyalty, and love for the Titans never wavered. He cared deeply about the people around him, and that kindness and authenticity left a lasting impact on everyone who knew him. He held a very special place in our family, and his presence in our lives and within this franchise will never be forgotten. We will miss him dearly, and we will always be grateful for the legacy he leaves behind.”
McGinnis served as head coach of the Cardinals, beginning as interim coach in 2000 and keeping the job through the 2003 season. He went 17-40.
“We were deeply saddened to learn of Dave McGinnis’ passing and extend our heartfelt condolences to all who knew and loved him,” Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill said in a statement. “As Dave often said, he was a ‘ball coach’ through and through, and no one ever filled that role with more passion, enthusiasm, and charisma.
“Coach Mac truly loved the game and everything -- and everyone -- associated with it, especially his players. He was one of a kind and will be greatly missed.”
McGinnis began his NFL coaching career as the linebackers coach of the Bears (1986-95) before becoming the Cardinals’ defensive coordinator (1996-2000). He went to the Titans as linebackers coach after the Cardinals fired him and was there from 2004-11 before following Jeff Fisher to the Rams, where McGinnis served as assistant head coach (2012-16).
McGinnis most recently worked for the Titans Radio Network.
