Before free agency, it was widely believed that the Cardinals would make a play for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. And they did.
But they agreed to terms with quarterback Gardner Minshew instead.
So what happened? Via Ben Volin of the Boston Globe, talks between the Cardinals and Garoppolo “hit a snag.” That prompted the Cardinals to pivot to Minshew.
The Rams have said they’d like to have Garoppolo back. He has served as the primary backup to Matthew Stafford for the past two years.
Regardless, the most clear alternative for Garoppolo didn’t come to fruition. He remains free to talk to any team, and to come to terms whenever and wherever he wants.
Cardinals Clips
The Cardinals will be cutting quarterback Kyler Murray, who’ll be available to any other team. The Cardinals, meanwhile, will need an available quarterback.
They have Jacoby Brissett under contract for 2026, at a base package of $5.44 million. They agreed to terms on Monday with Gardner Minshew, on a one-year, $8 million deal. (More on that coming in a bit.)
Brissett is generally expected to be gone. Minshew surely isn’t expected to be the starter. So what will the Cardinals do?
The answer could be Kirk Cousins.
New coach Mike LaFleur comes from the McVay-Shanahan hive. And they love them some Kirk Cousins.
He will be cut on Wednesday. He will be available to any team. And as LaFleur tries to install his offense, he’ll want a quarterback who can run it.
It would be interesting to see Cousins in the same division as McVay and Shanahan, playing both of them twice per year.
Cousins needs a landing spot. He needs a place where he’ll be the starter. In Arizona, he would be.
Money will be an issue. Cousins has perfected the art of getting paid. He’ll command more than the $10 million the Falcons owe him for 2026.
Look around. Where else would he be QB1? While the Steelers would be wise to drop the Aaron Rodgers torch and pivot to Cousins, they apparently won’t. The Jets are a possibility, especially with Cousins emerging as a potential media presence.
Still, the Cardinals have a clear vacancy at the top of the depth chart. Cousins would be an obvious choice to fill it.
The Cardinals agreed to terms with offensive guard Isaac Seumalo on a three-year, $31.5 million deal, according to multiple reports.
Seumalo, 32, made his only Pro Bowl in 2024.
He played the left side for the Steelers, where Evan Brown played for the Cardinals most of last season.
Seumalo entered the NFL as a third-round pick of the Eagles in 2016 and played seven seasons in Philadelphia, winning a Super Bowl ring in 2017.
Seumalo signed with the Steelers in 2023.
He started all 44 games he played with Pittsburgh and has 104 starts in his 10-year career.
Seumalo ranks 39th on PFT’s list of top-100 free agents.
Receiver Kendrick Bourne has left the 49ers in free agency for a second time.
Five years after Bourne exited San Francisco to sign with the Patriots, Bourne is leaving the 49ers to sign with the Cardinals.
Via Cameron Wolfe of NFL Media, Bourne has agreed to terms on a two-year, $10 million deal with Arizona. The deal has a maximum value of $12 million.
Bourne returned to the 49ers in 2025, after four years in New England. He caught 37 passes for 551 yards in 16 regular-season games last year.
His best season came in 2021 — his first with the Patriots — when he had 55 receptions for 800 yards and five touchdowns.
Defensive lineman Roy Lopez is heading back to Arizona.
NFL Media reports that Lopez has agreed to sign with the Cardinals as a free agent. It is a two-year, $11.5 million deal with $7 million in guaranteed money.
Lopez played for the Cardinals in 2023 and 2024 before signing with the Lions last year. Nick Rallis was the Arizona defensive coordinator in those seasons and he remained with the team through the head coaching change that saw Mike LaFleur replace Jonathan Gannon.
Lopez had 30 tackles and two sacks in 17 games for the Lions last season. He had 70 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery during his first stint with the Cardinals.
The Cardinals are re-signing defensive lineman L.J. Collier to a one-year deal worth $2.5million, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports.
Collier, 30, has spent the past three seasons in Arizona.
He entered the NFL as a first-round pick of the Seahawks in 2019, and spent his first four seasons in Seattle. Collier totaled 40 tackles, three sacks, five passes defensed and 13 quarterback hits in his time there.
Collier signed with the Cardinals before the 2023 season. He missed 16 games that season and 13 games in 2025.
In his career, Collier has played only 67 games with 32 starts. He has recorded 77 tackles, 6.5 sacks, 21 quarterback hits and seven passes defensed.
#MinshewMania is headed to the desert.
Quarterback Gardner Minshew is signing a one-year deal with the Cardinals, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.
The contract is worth $8 million, per Schefter.
Minshew, 29, spent last season with the Chiefs. While he started one game after quarterback Patrick Mahomes went down with a torn ACL, Minshew suffered a bone bruise in his knee that kept him out for the rest of the season.
Minshew has started at least one game every season since the Jaguars selected him in the sixth round of the 2019 draft. He went 7-6 as a starter for Indianapolis in 2023, earning a Pro Bowl berth. He started nine games for the Raiders in 2024, completing 66.3 percent of his throws for 2,013 yards with nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
In all, Minshew has appeared in 63 games with 47 starts for Jacksonville, Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, and Kansas City.
With Kyler Murray on his way out, Minshew will join a QBs room with Jacoby Brissett and Kedon Slovis.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said recently that he plans to “bust the budget” when it comes to adding players to improve their defense in 2026 and the team made its first free agency splash on Sunday afternoon.
According to multiple reports, they have agreed to a three-year deal with safety Jalen Thompson. Thompson, who is No. 69 on PFT’s top free agent list, stands to make a maximum of $36 million under the terms of the deal.
Thompson joined the Cardinals as a fifth-round pick in the 2019 supplemental draft and spent the last seven seasons in Arizona. He started all 62 games he played over the last four of those seasons and wrapped up his time with the NFC West by recording 95 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble in 2025.
The Cowboys also agreed to a trade with the Packers that will bring defensive lineman Rashan Gary to Dallas.
Tyler Allgeier is headed to the desert.
According to multiple reports, Allgeier has agreed to a two-year deal with the Cardinals.
A fifth-round pick in 2022, Allgeier has rushed for 2,876 yards with 18 touchdowns in 67 games in his career. He’s also caught 61 passes for 516 yards with two TDs.
While Allgeier rushed for 1,035 yards with three touchdowns as a rookie, he hasn’t reached that level of production since, as Atlanta drafted Bijan Robinson in 2023.
Still, Allgier has been durable, playing all 17 games in each of the last three seasons.
The Cardinals recently struck a deal to retain starting running back James Conner, who missed most of the 2025 season with a foot injury. Allgeier will provide another solid option at the position for new head coach Mike LaFleur.
When the new league year begins and multiple veteran quarterbacks are released, multiple teams will be in line for a major bargain.
With the Cardinals owing Kyler Murray $36.8 million, the Raiders owing Geno Smith $18.5 million, and the Dolphins owing Tua Tagovailoa $54 million, each could take a one-year deal for $1.3 million and stick their former teams with the balance.
That’s what Russell Wilson did two years ago, after the Broncos released him. Denver owed Wilson $39 million. He took a one-year contract for the then-veteran minimum of $1.21 million. (That year, the Steelers ultimately paid their entire depth chart — Wilson, Justin Fields, Kyle Allen — less than former Pittsburgh backup Mason Rudolph got in Tennessee.)
While there’s a chance Smith can command more than $18.5 million, Murray and Tagovailoa definitely will be in the minimum-salary category. It makes both of them more attractive.
The Vikings undoubtedly will pursue one of them. Other teams will, too. And they each should try to get a no-trade clause and a no-tag clause, guaranteeing that: (1) they won’t be shipped to another team without having input in the matter; and (2) they’ll have a clear shot at free agency if things go well in 2026.
Kirk Cousins, who also will be cut on Wednesday, has a 2026 guarantee of only $10 million. Based on his performance in 2025, he most likely will not be a minimum-salary option. The availability of the other three, however, could make it harder for Cousins to find a landing spot. Some teams will be inclined to take a far cheaper option in lieu of paying Cousins at least $20 million for 2026, if not more.
