Arizona's quarterback room has plummeted to the bottom of the league

Arizona’s quarterback room has plummeted to the bottom of the league, according to midseason rankings released by FanSided.

The data suggests a franchise in a deepening struggle, as the team’s depth has eroded even further since the season began.

The Cardinals entered the year with one of the least productive groups of signal-callers in the NFL, but recent performance and injuries have turned a difficult situation into a critical one. The team is currently 3-6, a slide that gained momentum following a loss in Seattle that saw injuries begin to mount across the roster, Raising Zona reported.

The lack of stability at the position has forced General Manager Monti Ossenfort into a difficult position regarding roster management. While some analysts suggested the team should have taken a seller’s stance at the trade deadline to recoup assets, the front office chose to stand pat, leaving the team to contend with its current personnel limitations.

A roster lacking starting caliber depth

The depth chart reflects a gap between Arizona and the rest of the league. The midseason evaluation places the team’s veteran options well below the standard for starting-caliber play.

Arizona Cardinals' QB Room Ranks at Bottom, Per FanSided

Player	FanSided Overall Rank
Jacoby Brissett	No. 36
Gardner Minshew II	No. 39
Carson Beck	No. 64

Jacoby Brissett’s ranking at No. 36 shows a fundamental issue: the Cardinals lacked a true starting option from the outset. This reality made the team’s decision to succumb to Brissett’s holdout—where he sought compensation reflective of a starting quarterback—particularly puzzling, given that the alternatives offered little statistical or qualitative advantage.

Gardner Minshew II, ranked at No. 39, has provided a volatile experience for the offense. While Mike LaFleur opted to start Minshew over Brissett—a decision that eventually led to Brissett being sent to the Baltimore Ravens—the results have been inconsistent. Minshew’s tenure included a comeback victory against the Dallas Cowboys, but he struggled to generate offensive momentum during his starting debut against the Seattle Seahawks.

The situation has now taken a turn for the worse with Minshew likely out for the remainder of the season due to a torn UCL. This injury removes the team’s most experienced recent option and forces an immediate transition to the next phase of the roster’s evaluation.

Carson Beck Arizona Cardinals Press Conference 11.11.26 — Arizona Cardinals

The rookie evaluation test

The injury to Minshew provides a window to evaluate third-round rookie Carson Beck, though the outlook remains cautious. While Beck’s lone preseason appearance showed promise, his ranking at No. 64 suggests he may not be the immediate long-term solution the franchise is searching for.

The upcoming schedule offers little room for error or gradual development. Beck is slated to face high-difficulty matchups against the Los Angeles Rams and the Kansas City Chiefs. The effectiveness of this evaluation will be heavily dictated by the team’s receiving corps, which currently lacks depth outside of tight end Trey McBride.

The high stakes of this rookie stretch create a catch-22 for the coaching staff. If Beck cannot perform under the pressure of these upcoming games, the team faces a reality where the answer to their quarterback problem is simply not present on the current roster. This would necessitate a heavy reliance on the upcoming draft cycle.

The difficulty of the upcoming task is compounded by the current state of college prospects, as many top-tier quarterbacks are not performing to their expected standards this season. Some analysts suggest that taking a high-stakes risk on a prospect like Texas’ Arch Manning could be the only way to secure a franchise cornerstone and accelerate the rebuild, but such a move remains speculative.

For now, the Cardinals must play an eight-game stretch that serves as a final audit of their current personnel. The midseason data confirms that the team is operating at a distinct disadvantage compared to its NFC West rivals and the league at large.

The team’s next major test begins with a matchup against the Los Angeles Rams.