Gardner Minshew Injury Update, Rumors on Surgery & Timeline as Carson Beck Becomes Cardinals QB1

Gardner Minshew's season may be over.

ESPN's Adam Schefter and Josh Weinfuss reported Monday the Arizona Cardinals quarterback may have suffered a torn UCL during the first half of Sunday's loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

While he remained in the game, Schefter noted he is now "seeking additional medical opinions to confirm that he likely will need season-ending surgery."

Minshew had a high completion percentage in Sunday's loss at 21-of-30, but he threw for 166 yards and zero touchdowns while taking three sacks.

The offense managed a mere three points in the 17-3 defeat and was unable to take advantage of a solid performance from the Arizona defense against Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Co.

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Arizona already traded Jacoby Brissett to the Baltimore Ravens after he was benched for Minshew during the team's Week 8 overtime win over the Dallas Cowboys. That means it will likely be Carson Beck time moving forward following the setback to Minshew.

The Cardinals selected Beck with a third-round pick in the 2026 NFL draft after he led Miami to the College Football Playoff national championship game.

Even if Minshew did not suffer the injury, it wouldn't have been surprising if the Cardinals eventually turned to the rookie. After all, Sunday's loss dropped them to 3-6 as the only team in the NFC West under .500.

They are not legitimate contenders this season, so seeing what they have in Beck at some point would have made sense so they could further evaluate the quarterback plans for 2027 and beyond. This only accelerates the timeline and will likely throw him into action during the upcoming game against the Los Angeles Rams.

That means Beck's first career start will come against Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald, which is a daunting proposition.

Still, it will be a chance for the rookie to impress and perhaps help his chances at becoming a starter down the line even when there are more healthy options on the roster.