These quarterbacks have started at least one game for the National Football League (NFL)'s Arizona Cardinals.
The early era of the NFL and American football in general was not conducive to passing the football, with the forward pass not being legalized until the early 1900s and not fully adopted for many more years. Although the quarterback position has historically been the one to receive the snap and thus handle the football on every offensive play, the importance of the position during this era was limited by various rules, like having to be five yards behind the line of scrimmage before a forward pass could be attempted. These rules and the tactical focus on rushing the ball limited the importance of the quarterback position while enhancing the value of different types of backs, such as the halfback and the fullback. Some of these backs were considered triple-threat men, capable of rushing, passing or kicking the football, making it common for multiple players to attempt a pass during a game.
As rules changed and the NFL began adopting a more pass-centric approach to offensive football, the importance of the quarterback position grew. Beginning in 1950, total wins and losses by a team's starting quarterback were tracked. Prior to 1950, the Cardinals had numerous players identified as playing the quarterback position. However, the combination of unreliable statistics in the early era of the NFL and the differences in the early quarterback position make tracking starts by quarterbacks impractical for this timeframe.
Seasons
The number of games they started during the season is listed in parentheses:
SeasonRegular seasonPostseasonReferencesChicago Cardinals 1950–19591950Jim Hardy (10) / Frank Tripucka (2) 1951Charley Trippi (6) / Jim Hardy (4) / Frank Tripucka (2)1952Charley Trippi (10) / Don Panciera (1) / Frank Tripucka (1)1953Jim Root (6) / Steve Romanik (4) / Ray Nagel (2)1954Lamar McHan (11) / Steve Romanik (1)1955Lamar McHan (11) / Ogden Compton (1)1956Lamar McHan (10) / Jim Root (2)1957Lamar McHan (12)1958Lamar McHan (9) / M.C. Reynolds (3)1959King Hill (11) / John Roach (1)St. Louis Cardinals 1960–19871960John Roach (10) / King Hill (1) / George Izo (1) 1961Sam Etcheverry (7) / Ralph Guglielmi (7)1962Charley Johnson (10) / Sam Etcheverry (4)1963Charley Johnson (14)19641965Charley Johnson (11) / Buddy Humphrey (3)1966Charley Johnson (9) / Terry Nofsinger (5)1967Jim Hart (14)1968Jim Hart (12) / Charley Johnson (2)1969Charley Johnson (9) / Jim Hart (5)1970Jim Hart (14)1971Jim Hart (9) / Pete Beathard (5)1972Gary Cuozzo (6) / Tim Van Galder (5) / Jim Hart (2)1973Jim Hart (12) / Gary Keithley (2)1974Jim Hart (14)Jim Hart (0–1)1975Jim Hart (0–1)1976 19771978Jim Hart (15) / Steve Pisarkiewicz (1)1979Jim Hart (13) / Steve Pisarkiewicz (3)1980Jim Hart (15) / Mike Loyd (1)1981Jim Hart (9) / Neil Lomax (7)1982Neil Lomax (9)Neil Lomax (0–1)1983Neil Lomax (13) / Jim Hart (3) 1984Neil Lomax (16)19851986Neil Lomax (14) / Cliff Stoudt (2)1987Neil Lomax (12) / Shawn Halloran (2) / Sammy Garza (1)Phoenix Cardinals 1988–19931988Neil Lomax (14) / Cliff Stoudt (2) 1989Gary Hogeboom (13) / Tom Tupa (2) / Timm Rosenbach (1)1990Timm Rosenbach (16)1991Tom Tupa (11) / Stan Gelbaugh (3) / Chris Chandler (2)1992Chris Chandler (13) / Timm Rosenbach (3)1993Steve Beuerlein (14) / Chris Chandler (2)Arizona Cardinals 1994–present1994Jay Schroeder (8) / Steve Beuerlein (7) / Jim McMahon (1) 1995Dave Krieg (16)1996Boomer Esiason (8) / Kent Graham (8)1997Jake Plummer (9) / Kent Graham (6) / Stoney Case (1)1998Jake Plummer (16)Jake Plummer (1–1)1999Jake Plummer (11) / Dave Brown (5) 2000Jake Plummer (14) / Dave Brown (2)2001Jake Plummer (16)20022003Jeff Blake (13) / Josh McCown (3)2004Josh McCown (13) / Shaun King (2) / John Navarre (1)2005Kurt Warner (10) / Josh McCown (6)2006Matt Leinart (11) / Kurt Warner (5)2007Kurt Warner (11) / Matt Leinart (5)2008Kurt Warner (16)Kurt Warner (3–1)2009Kurt Warner (15) / Matt Leinart (1)Kurt Warner (1–1)2010Derek Anderson (9) / John Skelton (4) / Max Hall (3) 2011Kevin Kolb (9) / John Skelton (7)2012John Skelton (6) / Kevin Kolb (5) / Ryan Lindley (4) / Brian Hoyer (1)2013Carson Palmer (16)2014Drew Stanton (8) / Carson Palmer (6) / Ryan Lindley (2)Ryan Lindley (0–1)2015Carson Palmer (16)Carson Palmer (1–1)2016Carson Palmer (15) / Drew Stanton (1) 2017Carson Palmer (7) / Blaine Gabbert (5) / Drew Stanton (4)2018Josh Rosen (13) / Sam Bradford (3)2019Kyler Murray (16) 2020Kyler Murray (16) 2021Kyler Murray (14) / Colt McCoy (3)Kyler Murray (0–1)2022Kyler Murray (11) / Colt McCoy (3) / David Blough (2) / Trace McSorley (1)2023Kyler Murray (8) / Joshua Dobbs (8) / Clayton Tune (1)2024Kyler Murray (17)2025Jacoby Brissett (12) / Kyler Murray (5)2026Jacoby Brissett (2)
Most games started These quarterbacks have the most starts for the Cardinals in regular season games (through the 2025 NFL season).
NamePeriodStartsWinsLossesTiesWin %1Jim Hart 1967–198318087885.4972Neil Lomax1982–198810147522.4753Kyler Murray2019–202587 38 48 1 .4434Jake Plummer1997–20028230520.3665Charley Johnson1961–19696936285 .5586Carson Palmer2013–201760 38 21 1 .6337Kurt Warner2005–200958 27 30 0 .465
Team career passing records
(Through the 2025 NFL season) NameCompletionsAttemptsCompletion %YardsTouchdownsInterceptionsQB rating 2,5905,069 51.1 34,639 209 247 66.6 1,817 3,153 57.6 22,771 136 90 82.7 1,974 2,941 67.1 20,460 121 60 92.2 1,540 2,754 55.9 17,622 90 114 69.0 1,373 2,197 62.5 16,872 105 57 91.1 1,371 2,105 65.1 15,843 100 59 91.9 1,030 2,047 50.3 14,928 108 110 69.6 453 1,014 44.7 6,749 51 69 55.5
See also List of NFL starting quarterbacks
References Arizona Cardinals Franchise Encyclopedia