#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.
Cardinals Clips
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.
The Cardinals’ offseason coaching change won’t lead to a major change to their kicking game.
Mike Garafalo of NFL Media reports that the Cardinals have reached agreement on new deals for kicker Chad Ryland and punter Blake Gillikin. Both players are signing one-year deals to remain in Arizona.
Ryland was 25-of-33 on field goals and 36-of-36 on extra points in his second season with the Cardinals. Ryland entered the league as a 2023 Patriots fourth-round pick.
Gillikin punted in the first five games of the 2025 season, but missed the rest of the year with a back injury. He has spent the last three seasons with the Cardinals and began his career with the Saints.
Cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting is set to return to the Cardinals for the 2026 season.
Mike Garafalo of NFL Media reports that Murphy-Bunting has agreed to a revised contract that will keep him in Arizona. Murphy-Bunting was set to make $7.105 million before the tweak to his deal.
The Cardinals and running back James Conner have also agreed to a revised deal for the coming season.
Murphy-Bunting signed a three-year deal with the Cardinals in 2024 and started 15 games that year, but he missed all of last season with a knee injury that he suffered in the offseason. He’s also been a starter in Tampa and Tennessee over the course of his NFL career.
Veteran running back James Conner is staying in Arizona for 2026.
Conner has agreed to revise his contract and remain with the Cardinals, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
There’s no word on what that revised contract will look like, but it’s safe to say Conner agreed to a pay cut that will significantly reduce his salary cap hit, which was scheduled to be $9.8 million this season.
The Cardinals weren’t going to spend that kind of money on a running back who will turn 31 in May and suffered a season-ending foot injury in Week Three of last season.
But at the right price, the Cardinals still see value in what Conner can bring to the offense. He’ll be back for his 10th NFL season and his sixth season in Arizona.
On Wednesday, the Cardinals will release Kyler Murray, the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft. Those inclined to bet on propositions like a player’s next team regard the Vikings as the clear favorites to sign him.
On DraftKings, Murray’s odds have moved from -110 to -295. The next team is the Jets at +350.
The Dolphins are at +550, with the Falcons at +650. The Browns are +800. The Steelers are +1300, the Colts are +1600. The Rams are +2000.
The offensive rookie of the year and two-time Pro Bowler had three solid seasons in Arizona. The next four seasons, which were marred by an ill-advised homework clause and a torn ACL suffered in December 2022, did not go nearly as well.
Making Murray more attractive is the possibility that he’ll do a one-year, $1.3 million contract, with the Cardinals paying him $35.5 million.
The first question is whether he wants to play right away, or whether he’s content to join a team like the Rams as a backup, with the goal of hitting the reset button in advance of 2027. Given his skills, why spend a season on the sideline? He should be looking to play now, with the goal of playing well enough that another big contract will come his way next March, if not sooner.
The Cardinals released nose tackle Dalvin Tomlinson on Friday, the team announced.
The move saves the Cardinals $9.8 million against their cap and creates a $6.8 million dead cap hit.
Tomlinson signed a two-year, $22 million deal as a free agent last offseason, with $20 million in guarantees. He started all 17 games last season and totaled 26 tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack.
The Cardinals hope to get more out of two former first-round picks, Walter Nolen III and Darius Robinson, who had injury issues last season. They also have Dante Stills and the potential to bring back Calais Campbell and fellow free agent L.J. Collier.
Tomlinson is the second defensive lineman released in as many days after Bilal Nichols hit the transaction wire on Thursday.
The Cardinals are adding an experienced coach to their staff.
Per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, Arizona is hiring Teryl Austin as a senior assistant.
Austin, 61, had been with the Steelers since 2019. He joined the club as senior defensive assistant and secondary coach before being promoted to defensive coordinator in 2022.
He was not retained under new head coach Mike McCarthy.
This will be Austin’s second stint with the Cardinals, as he served as the club’s defensive backs coach from 2007-2009. He has also served as defensive coordinator for the Lions (2014-2017) and Bengals (2018).
