Cardinals at Seahawks Start/Sit: Tyler Allgeier Takes Over for Jeremiyah Love as Gardner Minshew Starts Against a Seattle Team Coming Off a Rout

The Arizona Cardinals head to Seattle on Sunday with a new quarterback and a new lead running back. Gardner Minshew takes over as the starter after throwing three touchdowns in relief during last week's overtime win in Dallas, and Tyler Allgeier inherits the backfield after rookie Jeremiyah Love went on injured reserve with a high-ankle sprain that is expected to cost him four to five weeks. The Seattle Seahawks are 4-4 after a 34-17 home loss to Chicago on Monday night and are favored by roughly 10.5 points, the largest spread of the week, with a total near 42.

For fantasy managers, this game is a test of whether volume can beat a bad game script on the Arizona side, and whether Seattle's offense can bounce back after going 1-for-11 on third down against the Bears.

The setup

Arizona is 3-5. The Cardinals traded Marvin Harrison Jr. to Houston in October and have rotated quarterbacks, and now they are working through a backfield crisis. Love's injury is his third separate ankle problem since August. Bam Knight is in the concussion protocol, and James Conner is not ready to return from injured reserve this week.

Seattle wraps up a three-game homestand. Sam Darnold completed 17 of 34 passes for 188 yards with two touchdowns and an interception against Chicago, and the offense never found a rhythm against a Bears defense that had just added Jeffery Simmons. Zach Charbonnet started at running back.

Here is the start/sit verdict for the key fantasy names in this game.

Start: Tyler Allgeier

Allgeier was a change-of-pace back before last week. Then Love and Knight went down in Dallas, and Allgeier ran for 147 yards on 11 carries, caught all five targets for 44 yards and scored twice while playing 48 snaps. With no healthy back behind him who has played a meaningful role, he should handle the large majority of the work on Sunday.

The concern is game script. A double-digit road underdog will throw more in the second half, and Allgeier has never been a featured pass-catcher. But volume in the first half plus a role in the passing game that grew last week make him a solid RB2. He was the top waiver add of the week for a reason, and anyone who rostered him should start him.

Sit: Gardner Minshew in 12-team leagues

Minshew was excellent in relief, throwing three touchdowns to rally Arizona to a 33-30 overtime win. Seattle at home is a far tougher test, and his receivers are thin without Harrison. He is a superflex starter because volume should be there late, but in one-quarterback leagues there are safer streamers.

Start: Trey McBride

The tight end is the safest Cardinals pass-catcher in any quarterback situation. When Arizona trails, the short middle of the field is where Minshew goes, and McBride has been the most reliable target in the league at his position. He caught seven of eight targets for 72 yards and a touchdown in Dallas, and Athlon Sports noted it was his 10th straight game with at least seven catches, a run topped in NFL history only by Antonio Brown and Cooper Kupp. He stays an elite TE1 regardless of the spread.

Seattle: bounce-back spots

Darnold was poor on Monday, but the matchup flips. Arizona's defense is a significant step down from Chicago's, and Seattle's offense has a full week to rebuild after a short turnaround. He is a low-end QB1 with streaming appeal.

Charbonnet is the best fantasy bet in the game. A double-digit home favorite facing a depleted Arizona roster should produce 20-plus touches and goal-line work. He is an RB2 with RB1 upside this week.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba remains a WR1 in any matchup. Seattle's passing game runs through him: he caught six of 11 targets for 118 yards and a touchdown on Monday, accounting for 118 of Seattle's 188 receiving yards, and he leads the NFL in receiving yards with seven 100-yard games in eight appearances. If the Seahawks build a lead early, his volume dips in the fourth quarter, but the first-half usage should be enough.

Betting angle

Seattle at roughly 10.5 points is the biggest spread on the Week 9 board, and that number reflects Arizona's quarterback churn and running back injuries more than any particular strength from a Seattle team that just lost by 17 at home. The total near 42 is one of the lowest of the week.

The case for Arizona is that Minshew moved the ball against Dallas, and Seattle's offense has been inconsistent enough to keep the backdoor open. The case for Seattle is that it should control the line of scrimmage against a depleted roster. The cleanest fantasy expression of a Seattle win is Charbonnet's rushing volume rather than the spread itself.

The Verdexed model's pick for this game is on /nfl/predictions and in the weekly picks piece at /blog/nfl-week-9-picks-2026.

What's next

Arizona's front office could add a veteran back before the November 10 trade deadline, which would threaten Allgeier's monopoly, so managers should enjoy the volume this week and monitor transactions. Conner's return from injured reserve is the other development to track. For Seattle, a convincing win would steady a season that is sitting at .500, and a loss would put real pressure on a team that has spent the last three weeks at home.