The Arizona Cardinals have the back of their rookie quarterback as he makes his first NFL start.
The Cards have turned their quarterback carousel into a whirlwind: they traded day-one starter Jacoby Brissett to the Baltimore Ravens after injuries decimated their QB room.
His replacement, Gardner Minshew, is out for the rest of the season with an elbow injury. The injuries have forced 2026 third-round pick Carson Beck into the starting spot, but his coaches said that Beck has done everything he needs to do to be ready.
“Just go out and operate this offense and go play each play as its own,” head coach Mike LaFleur said Thursday about his expectations for Beck. “Do what he’s been doing in practice. It’s just an extension of the practice field. Obviously, it’s live bullets and go operate, go play his game.”
LaFleur acknowledged that things are certainly different on game day, but Beck has shown enough in practice and in a brief appearance in Sunday’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks to give the coaching staff confidence in him.
“Just the way he goes about his business, whether it’s been from OTAs through training camp before he got hurt, obviously seeing him operate there in that first half plus the one possession there in the second half [on Sunday],” LaFleur said. “So, we’ll know more come that Sunday, but have all the confidence that he’s ready to roll.”
Beck only appeared in one preseason game: the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game in August. Beck started that game, going 15 of 19 passing for 188 yards and a touchdown and rushing twice for 3 yards. He missed the rest of the preseason due to a rib injury. Beck has plenty of experience playing high-level football: 55 collegiate games with 43 starts; he played 4 years in the SEC at Georgia, then a fifth year in the ACC at Miami.
LaFleur said his preparation and maturity have been excellent, but he has not been overthinking his approach to his first start. He is getting all of the reps in practice, and LaFleur said that he “puts in the exact amount of work he needs” to understand the plays.
Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett added more insight into Beck’s work ethic.
“Since day one, he lives and breathes football,” Hackett said. “I think it’s one of those things; I remember when he first got here, we had to kick him out of the building. He loves it, and you feel that in every single rep, every single meeting, all the stuff that he does. So I’m excited. I’m excited for him and his opportunity.”
Hackett also added to LaFleur’s notes about his preparation, saying Beck is a smart player who can take in a lot of information quickly.
“He’s a very fast processor from being up on the line, how he memorizes the plays, how he can retain the amount of information,” he said.
“It’s impressive. I love watching him out there when it comes to getting up at the line, having that process. But I think something else that’s really cool is just once the ball’s snapped, how he reacts and how he sees things. You can see his experience from that standpoint. So no, it’s something that he does really well, and we’ll see what’s going to happen on Sunday.”
Beck said Thursday that he is also excited to get out on the field.
“Having gone from an emergency quarterback at the beginning of the season, to last week being the backup, to now being the starter, it’s been a crazy season,” he said.
“It’s really been a welcome-to-the-NFL season—just getting introduced to what the league is and what it can be. But super excited for the opportunity and to have the chance to go play with these guys.”
