Mike LaFleur didn’t wait for the first question of his victory Monday press conference to finish before delivering the news.

The Arizona Cardinals, fresh off their wild, come-from-behind overtime win over the Dallas Cowboys, will be moving forward with Gardner Minshew at quarterback.

But previous starter Jacoby Brissett, who was benched for Minshew in the third quarter of Sunday’s game, will not revert to his natural backup position. Behind Minshew will be rookie Carson Beck, who has yet to be active on game day this season.

Brissett will become the emergency third quarterback, barring a potential trade or exit from the organization. With a 3-16 record in games started (and finished) for Arizona since Kyler Murray’s time under center came to an end, Brissett is unlikely to take any snaps as a Cardinal without major injury influencing that outcome.

Cardinals starting Minshew, moving Brissett to bench

Minshew’s performance — and the discrepancy between his and Brissett’s numbers — made the decision obvious.

Brissett completed 10 of his 23 passes for 119 yards, 5.2 yards per attempt and an interception while taking four sacks over two-plus quarters. The Cardinals trailed by 14 when LaFleur sent Brissett to the bench.

When Minshew entered, there was an immediate shift. Arizona’s backup fired 23 decisive passes and completed 17 of them for 188 yards, three touchdowns and a passer rating of 137.3. He marched the Cardinals down the field for the game-tying score then led the game-winning drive in overtime.

“Just needed a spark, we weren’t moving the football. … That was just the spark that we felt like we needed. And [Minshew] gave it to us,” LaFleur said. “He just went through his reads, he had good footwork, he was good in the pocket. … So just played the position, did what he was asked to do, and was accurate with the ball.”

LaFleur’s hand was, essentially, forced to make this a more permanent situation.

“He kind of showed all of us [it was the right decision] in terms of him going out there and being a competitor that he is,” the head coach added.

“The production was pretty wild in terms of the amount of points and just moving up and down the field, but he’s a competitor, and he’s always prepared. He’s preparing like he’s the starter. He’s preparing like he’s going to be in there for whatever snap.”

The announcement was a long time coming, though perhaps not according to the Cardinals’ internal clock. Fans have been calling for a quarterback change for some time, while Arizona has mostly pushed back on making the move.

Brissett, in 22 games (20 starts) with the Cardinals, has completed just over 64% of his passes for 5,085 yards, 33 touchdowns, 15 interceptions and a passer rating of 88.5. He’s averaged 6.4 yards per attempt, with much of his volume yardage coming late in already-lopsided losses. For his 11-year career, he’s produced an 85.6 passer rating and a record of 23-50.

“It’s not a fun phone call. I have a lot of respect for Jacoby the person. I have a lot of respect for Jacoby the player,” LaFleur said. “Had some conversations with some of the non-quarterbacks so that they knew, and they weren’t caught off guard. But we got a good group of guys in that locker room, I’m not worried about our locker room. “

Minshew, on the other hand, has had mostly-similar levels of success, though he hasn’t seen much action recently. He’s 17-30 as a starter with an eight-year career rating of 88.7.

He is also a backup-level quarterback, but appears to be a better fit for the Cardinals’ current offense, and is undeniably the hot hand. Minshew is almost certainly not the long-term solution, but the decision to make a swap did not seem like a difficult one for Arizona’s immediate future.

And it might be the bridge to a longer-term solution, as well — depending on Beck.

What does Cardinals’ QB change mean for Carson Beck?

Moving off Brissett was step one. Minshew performed well, but fans will still want to see 2026’s 65th overall pick take snaps before the season ends.

And Beck is one step closer to that being a reality, though not this week and likely not the next. He’ll be active on game day going forward and will back up Minshew. Any injury to Minshew, and the Miami product could be in the game.

LaFleur spoke positively about Beck’s progress as a rookie.

“Just think [promoting him to QB2 is] the right thing to do, to continue his development in terms of getting a little bit more reps with scout team and all that,” LaFleur said.

The head coach added Beck is feeling “at least week-to-week” with regard to back spasms that popped up in practice. He also expressed confidence in Beck’s ability to step in if needed.

“I know he’s prepared to go in there if need be,” LaFleur said. “I know that he has full grasp of this game plan, of this system. And it’s no secret, obviously, if something were to happen, it’d be nice to know what we got right there. I feel really good about where he is with his development.”

The Cardinals will face a brutal stretch of games in the coming weeks. They get the Seahawks’ defense in Seattle on Sunday, and will follow that up with contests against the Rams and Chiefs.

Without an injury to Minshew, the ideal landing spot for Beck is likely no sooner than November 29’s matchup with the struggling Commanders. If Minshew plays the way he did against Dallas in those games, Beck’s timeline could get even longer.

But for now, the Cardinals’ future might be one day closer. At the very least, Arizona will need to find out if Beck can shoulder starting duties, or if 2027 will force them to pursue another quarterback avenue.