Cardinals announce big Gardner Minshew, Jacoby Brissett changes after Cowboys win

Cardinals announce big Gardner Minshew, Jacoby Brissett changes after Cowboys win originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Arizona Cardinals are not a serious contender this year, but at 3-5, they are playing some good football, all things considered. They just beat the Dallas Cowboys in Week 8, and it was quite the victory for Arizona as well.

After Jacoby Brissett was benched partway through the game, Gardner Minshew came in and thrived, leading the team to a wild comeback win over the Cowboys in overtime. Minshew was great, and his play gave the Cardinals an interesting question to resolve.

Now, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Cardinals have made a major change at QB. Minshew is now the starting QB, and Brissett has been demoted. But it’s not such a simple change for Arizona, as Brissett’s status is very different from what it was entering Week 8.

Cardinals make major QB depth chart changes with Minshew, Brissett

“The #AZCardinals are naming QB Gardner Minshew as their starting QB, one day after his heroics led to a dramatic win over the Cowboys,” Rapoport reports. “Jacoby Brissett heads to the bench.”

Seeing the Cardinals turn to Minshew as their new starting quarterback isn’t a surprise at all. Considering what he did in Week 8 to help the Cardinals win, this seemed like the obvious decision.

Taking over for Brissett, Minshew went 17 of 23 for 188 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions, while leading a miraculous comeback victory for the Cardinals in the process.

Brissett went 10 of 23 for 119 yards and no touchdowns with one interception, so it shouldn’t be a huge surprise that the Cardinals are making this change.

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But, as Jonathan Jones of The Athletic reports, Brissett isn’t just hitting the bench. He’s fallen to the bottom of the Cardinals’ QB depth chart.

“Carson Beck will be QB2, and Brissett will be the emergency third QB. This is a signal to the NFL that they can trade for Brissett,” Jones reports.

The Cardinals aren’t simply making a starting QB change, going from one veteran in Brissett to another in Minshew. They’re also making rookie third-rounder Carson Beck the new backup QB, and sliding Brissett to the QB3 job.

A team in need of QB help, like the Baltimore Ravens, now might be in line to acquire someone like Brissett this Fall before the November 10 trade deadline, as the Cardinals’ making this change shows Brissett isn’t in their starting plans again this season.

The Cardinals’ Week 8 comeback victory over the Cowboys has resulted in some major changes to the team, including a pivot to Minshew as the starter, Beck as the backup, and Brissett to QB3.

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