TEMPE, Ariz. -- If Gardner Minshew II knows how to do one thing well in the NFL, it's learning a new offense.
And he's in the process of doing it again.
When Minshew signed with the Arizona Cardinals in March, he joined his sixth team in eight years -- including five in the past five years. Yet, as he's been picking up the Cardinals' new scheme under first-year head coach Mike LaFleur, Minshew noticed his latest offense is closest to the one he ran at Washington State under the late Mike Leach: the Air Raid.
"The reason this does so well is it thrives off complementary looks and simplicity with the illusion of complexity through motions, similar formations," Minshew explained. "We really don't do a ton off each look, but just enough to put a seed of doubt and the idea is that we're going to get really good at what we do.
"So, that's been a blast getting in this offense. I think it gives the players a ton of confidence when, 'Hey, we have these things, this is what we're going to do. It's your job to make it come to life.' And I think we got the guys to do that."
Just like with any part of being a professional football player, practice makes progress. For Minshew, being in Jacksonville, Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Las Vegas and Kansas City has taught and prepared him to pick up new schemes quickly.
While it may seem like diving into the complexities of a new playbook is a daunting task, Minshew breaks it down simply.
"It's all kind of translation," he said. "Everybody has different words for mostly the same concepts, same things, but the way they package things here, put them together, it's very complimentary and it all works together as a system very well.
"So, it's been pretty easy learning and it's been a lot of fun."
It also helps that Minshew has experience learning an offense from LaFleur despite not playing for him in the NFL.
When he was selected for the 2019 Senior Bowl, Minshew was projected as a late-round pick. He knew he needed any -- and every -- advantage he could get that year in Mobile, Ala. in front of coaches, general managers and scouts. Minshew knew the San Francisco 49ers' staff was going to be coaching his team and used a friendship to get a leg up. Minshew called Nick Mullens, who was a quarterback for the 49ers at the time, and asked if he could put him in touch with anyone on San Francisco's staff who could help get him the offense.
Minshew was eventually put in touch with LaFleur, who was the 49ers' pass game coordinator in 2019. The two hopped on a FaceTime call. LaFleur initially thought it was going to be a quick call, maybe 20 minutes long. The two talked for about four hours, forcing LaFleur to cancel dinner plans with his wife.
Eight years later, Minshew hasn't changed. He wanted the entire offense on the day he signed with the Cardinals, LaFleur said.
"He's still in that same mindset," LaFleur said. "He loves it. The only thing different is hair might be frolicking a little bit more and he's a dad."
Their call from 2019 stuck with LaFleur, and Minshew said "that's a lot of the reason that got me the opportunity here."
"That's just so cool, man," Minshew added.
Throughout the Cardinals' offseason program, including the first two weeks of OTAs, Minshew has been the highest quarterback on Arizona's depth chart with incumbent starter Jacoby Brissett holding out for a reworked contract for this season.
Even armed with a familiarity of the Cardinals' scheme, Minshew is still competing to be the starter. Having started more than 10 games just twice in his career -- 12 games as a rookie in 2019 with the Jaguars and 10 games in 2023 with the Colts -- Minshew is in a familiar position.
He dismissed the idea that he's competing for Arizona's starting job, despite the fact that he is. Minshew said he's just getting the reps he's getting and trying to do his best and help the Cardinals.
With a week left in OTAs followed by a mandatory minicamp, Minshew continues to show LaFleur what he can do, almost a decade after they first met.
"Fortunately, I've had a lot of experience kind of in all those roles, whether it's back to college, pros. At the end of the day, all you really have is the work that you put in. At some point, somebody's going to be better than you and they're going to play. At some point you'll be the best guy in the room, you'll get a chance to play.
"All you really have is your opportunity to work and get better and to enjoy it with the guys around you. It's been a blast so far. Working with his staff, working with these guys on the team and I look forward to just continuing that."
