Arizona Cardinals’ 2026 QB plan? There isn’t one

The Arizona Cardinals don't yet have a solid plan for a quarterback heading into the 2026 season. This may not seem like much of an issue now, but it's getting increasingly close to becoming a distraction.

At least by now, and even before the draft, teams have a bit of an idea who will be under center, who they will draft to give them the best option under center, or who they will have in camp to compete for the position of a starting quarterback in the NFL. Not the Arizona Cardinals... In fact, they have no plan.

General manager Monti Ossenfort made it clear this week that the Cardinals do not have a starter. And to the extent that a competition will unfold during the offseason program, Jacoby Brissett won’t be there unless and until he gets a new contract. The other options include Gardner Minshew or Kedon Slovis.

Many quarterbacks have been linked to Arizona, including Jimmy Garoppolo and Derek Carr, but those have since cooled way off.

In the draft, you have a couple of QBs this year that could turn out to be very good professional quarterbacks, but that position isn't necessarily a murderers' row of talent this year. Unless the Cardinals make a huge splash and trade up to number one overall and sweep Fernando Mendoza away from the Raiders, the next best may be Ty Simpson or Carson Beck.

There are many assumptions that the Cardinals will fill the role this year with mediocre talent and hold off until they can choose Arch Manning in next year's draft, but that is unlikely because you never know what can happen with injuries, NIL money, or players going elsewhere in college, etc.

Russell Wilson would be a name Arizona could bring in on a veteran minimum contract, giving them a low-risk/high-reward deal. In theory, a tanked season does more harm than good, but the Cardinals will need to squat or get off the pot very soon.

This article originally appeared on Touchdown Wire: Arizona Cardinals’ 2026 QB plan? There isn’t one