Carson Beck will have to wait at least a week to play again following his impressive performance in last week's Hall of Fame Game. A rib injury sustained during that game will keep Beck sidelined for Thursday night's preseason game between the Cardinals and Raiders . Beck, a third-round pick out of Miami, practiced through soreness all week. And while the injury is not considered serious, the Cardinals are erring on the side of caution. The Cardinals had previously announced that veteran Jacoby Brissett would get the start after Brissett did not play last Thursday night. Beck's absence will deprive fans of what would have been a compelling quarterback matchup between himself and fellow rookie Fernando Mendoza, who is making his NFL debut. In his NFL debut, Beck went 15 of 19 for 188 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. His first career touchdown pass was a 5-yard completion to Simi Fehoko midway through the second quarter. Beck's favorite target last Thursday night was Jalen Brooks , who caught three passes for 99 yards that included a 49-yard reception. What a throw by Carson Beck! @ProFootballHOF Game on NBC Stream on @NFLPlus + Peacock pic.twitter.com/ai2A4lm7z0 "It's a broken record, but it's the same thing I keep seeing in practice," Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur said afterward . "He doesn't make it too big. He just makes it about the play." While Beck won't get a chance to build off of that success against the Raiders, it appears -- barring a setback -- that he will be back on the field for the Cardinals' third preseason game against the Cowboys next Saturday night
Every year, I promise myself that I won't overreact to anything that I see during the NFL preseason , and every year, I end up overreacting to almost everything I see. That being said, I don't think what I'm about to say is an overreaction: The Arizona Cardinals should give their starting quarterback job to Carson Beck for the 2026 season. I thought this before Arizona's 33-30 loss to Carolina in the Hall of Fame Game, and after watching Beck's performance on Thursday night, I'm even more convinced that it should happen. When you throw a rookie QB into an actual game for the first time, you never know what you're going to get. As Ryan Wilson noted on Thursday night , some rookies have performed well in their first preseason game ( Dak Prescott finished 10 of 12 for 139 yards and two touchdowns in 2016), while other rookies have struggled ( C.J. Stroud completed just 2 of 4 passes for 13 yards with an interception in his first preseason game). What Beck did was prove that he can play at the NFL level. When you have a rookie QB, you want to make sure he can command the huddle, that he knows the playbook and that he can make good throws. Beck did all of that on Thursday in a performance that saw him complete 15 of 19 passes for 188 yards and a touchdown. He completed two passes of at least 35 yards, including the 49-yarder below to Jalen Brooks . Carson Beck to Jalen Brooks. WOW. @ProFootballHOF Game on NBC Stream on @NFLPlus + Peacock pic.twitter.com/VjnMEP2mIQ New Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur didn't seem too shocked by Beck's performance, because that's apparently how he's been playing during training camp. "The same thing that I keep seeing at practice where he just gets in and out of the huddle, and he doesn't make it too big," LaFleur said, via ESPN . "[Beck] worried about one play at a time and executing that play and going through your progressions, not making stuff up. If it's not there, checking it down. If we're in a bad play, a bad call, don't make it worse. ... I just thought he was steady all day." Right now, Jacoby Brissett seems to be the leader in the clubhouse for the starting QB job. LaFleur hasn't officially named a starting quarterback just yet, but Arizona did just revise Brissett's contract . The new deal will give the veteran QB a raise of about $10 million over his old contract: He'll now be making about $15.5 million in 2026 with a chance to earn up to $21 million . You don't hand out a raise like that unless you're thinking about making that guy your starter. Brissett is a 33-year-old veteran and he might make sense as a bridge quarterback in another situation, but not here. Let's start with the fact that Beck already knows the playbook better than Brissett. Usually, this would be an advantage for the veteran QB on the team, but with a new head coach, both quarterbacks had to start from scratch this year and both guys are in the process of learning the new playbook. However, Brissett skipped OTAs due to a contract issue, so he actually fell behind. After signing his new deal on July 26, Brissett was asked if he was up to speed on the new offense and he gave an extremely honest answer. "Oh, hell no," Brissett said, via ESPN . "I got a long way to go. I mean, I'm willing to put the work in. Obviously, after this night of sleep that I do get, I'll go back to three hours of sleep for work purposes now. But it's training camp. We're all learning. It's first time in this offense." So Brissett has no advantage there. Beck, who was taken in the third round of the draft back in April, has shown that he can competently run the offense and that's what matters. The bigger reason to start Beck is because the Cardinals need to know what they have in him RIGHT NOW. There's simply no upside to giving the starting QB job to Brissett. Let's look at three hypothetical scenarios for how Arizona's season plays out with Brissett and why Beck would make more sense in each case. 1. The Cards play bad and earn the t
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Carson Beck, the Cardinals' third-round pick, impressed in the Hall of Fame Game, leading three scoring drives and throwing for 188 yards. Head coach Mike LaFleur noted that Beck's performance is consistent with what he's seen in practice, highlighting his ability to stay composed. While Jacoby Brissett remains the starter, Beck's strong preseason showing bolsters his potential as the team's future quarterback
Brooks secured three of four targets for 99 yards in the Cardinals' 33-30 preseason loss to the Panthers on Thursday. Brooks led the Cardinals in receiving yards on the night, getting a major boost from two long catches in the first half. Brooks first recorded a 35-yard grab from Carson Beck on the Cardinals' second possession, and he subsequently set Arizona up at the Panthers' 17-yard line with a 49-yard reception down the left side of the field early in the second quarter. The stellar showing was critical for Brooks, who's looking to stick as a reserve option in a fairly crowded Cardinals receiver room. The 2023 seventh-round pick of the Cowboys will look to carry over the momentum into Arizona's second preseason game next Thursday night in Las Vegas
Brooks tallied three catches (on six targets) for 51 yards and 10 kick returns for 254 yards in five regular-season appearances in 2025. With all of Marvin Harrison (foot), Greg Dortch (chest) and Zay Jones (Achilles) being placed on injured reserve in the second half of the campaign, Brooks received regular run over the final five games but didn't do much with the increased workload as WR Michael Wilson and TE Trey McBride dominated the attention of QB Jacoby Brissett. Brooks is one of seven wide receivers under contract with the Cardinals in 2026, so he at least should be in the mix for reps along with Xavier Weaver behind Harrison and Wilson, barring other additions at the position this offseason
Brooks wasn't targeted during Sunday's 37-14 defeat in Cincinnati. Brooks has garnered offensive snaps in four straight games for the Cardinals, but his shares have ranged from five to 71 percent on a weekly basis. He rang in at 30 percent Sunday behind Michael Wilson (86 percent), Xavier Weaver (67 percent) and Marvin Harrison (33 percent). Because Harrison's status for the regular-season finale at the Rams is up in the air after emerging from Week 17 with a foot injury, Brooks could be poised for more snaps this weekend, but his output so far in Arizona (3-51-0 on six targets) isn't appealing for fantasy purposes
Brooks went without a target while playing three of the Cardinals' 57 snaps on offense in Sunday's 26-19 loss to the Falcons. He returned two kickoffs for 56 yards on special teams. After drawing three targets in both of the Cardinals' previous two contests, Brooks saw his role on offense diminish while Arizona welcomed Marvin Harrison back from a heel injury. Unless Arizona is missing one of Harrison, Michael Wilson or Xavier Weaver for one of its final two games of the season, Brooks doesn't look as though he'll be in line for many snaps on offense
