Gardner Minshew and Mike LaFleur: What goes around often comes around

The year was 2019 and Arizona Cardinals quarterback Gardner Minshew had completed his college career at Northwest Mississippi Community College, East Carolina and Washington State.

Preparing to play in the Senior Bowl, Minshew hoped to get a head start on what might be asked of him when the practices in Mobile, Ala., began.

He knew quarterback Nick Mullens (now with the Jacksonville Jaguars), who was with the San Francisco 49ers after signing as an undrafted free agent in 2017.

At that point in his career, Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur was the passing game coordinator for the 49ers and head coach Kyle Shanahan’s staff were the coaches for the South team.

Minshew was asked about his experience that year because LaFleur mentioned it while talking to the media at the NFL meetings in March and then again Wednesday with Minshew scheduled to have his first media availability that day.

He said, “I remember, going into the Senior Bowl, I was like a late-round projection (he ended up selected by the Jaguars in the sixth round), but I had an opportunity there and I was going to make the most of it.”

Reaching out to Mullens, Minshew recalled, I was like, ‘Hey, do you know anybody on staff? How can I get some (of the) offense?’

“He ended up connecting me through a couple people. I ended up getting the offense a little bit early, which was just awesome and at the time I was just trying to be more prepared for that game and turns out that’s a lot of the reason that got me the opportunity here. I really appreciate Coach LaFleur and I am so excited to be working with him.”

It turned out he got a bit more than “some” of the offense.

The Cardinals signed Minshew to a one-year contract three weeks before the league meeting, when LaFleur communicated his side of the story.

“I’ve always really appreciated his game because he can move around with his feet and get himself out of pocket. He loves ball,” LaFleur said. “I mean, the day we signed him, he wanted all the information already, which is really no different than when we had him at the Senior Bowl back in 2019.

“That was when FaceTime really started to get big. And I remember FaceTiming with him for like four hours, like three days before we were first going to Mobile, because he wanted to learn the offense, to be just kind of ahead of the curve. And that’s just who he is. That’s just how he’s wired. That’s why he’s had success in this league, why he’s put in so many years.”

The Cardinals are Minshew’s sixth team and the fifth different one in the last five seasons.

When LaFleur was asked Wednesday how Minshew is different now than what it was like spending a week with him seven years ago, he said, “That’s a good question because I don’t know how different he is. What you see from him every single day is his love for the game and love for the locker room — love for just football in general. And that’s what you felt when he wanted to meet (prior to the Senior Bowl).”

LaFleur added some other details when he said, “I didn’t know if it was going to be 20 minutes and I had to finally tell my wife, ‘Cancel our dinner plans’ because he’s going to go for about four hours, and it was great. He’s still in that same mindset. He loves it.”

What else has changed?

Said LaFleur, “The only thing different is his hair might be frolicking a little bit more and he’s a dad.”

Asked Wednesday about his observations, safety Budda Baker smiled and said, “Great guy. I mean, every time I see him, he reminds me of just like a California surfer. Long hair, hang loose all the time, but he’s been great. He’s taken command of the offense, and they’re doing a great job and glad to have him here.”

Minshew emphasized how important it always is to make the most of any relationship that occurs. Asked about the bond that was forged on that day in 2019, he said, “It absolutely made an impression and that was one of the things I was telling some of the younger guys here. You really never know when those connections come around. So, building those relationships, showing whoever it is, these coaches, that you do care; that’s what you want to do, right?”

Could that result in him earning the starting job? Don’t be surprised if that happens.

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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: Gardner Minshew and Mike LaFleur: What goes around often comes around

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