Cardinals rookie Carson Beck’s Hall of Fame debut looked like a launching pad before cracked ribs instantly grounded his momentum. In a blink, he was staring down a brutal rehab timeline with a potential winter return waiting down the road.
That was until Beck returned to full participation in practice around Sep. 1, and has since worked his way up, making up for all the lost preseason snaps.
Jacoby Brissett remains the undoubted QB1 for now. The Cardinals need him for winning on a weekly basis given their work-in-progress roster and daunting schedule.
Carson Beck Suiting Up as Emergency QB vs. Chargers
For his part, though, Beck will still suit up for Week 1 kickoff vs. the Chargers as the Cardinals’ emergency QB, as Bo Brack reports.
While Beck aims for a slow but steady return to live snaps, Mike LaFleur found a way to squeeze value out of the downtime. Instead of letting the rookie rot on the bench and overthink mental reps, LaFleur set up a pipeline to keep him sharp for the inevitable pivot away from Brissett.
According to ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss, LaFleur revealed that Beck and backup quarterback Gardner Minshew will split the scout team reps.
“32 reps on Wednesday, 36 on Thursday, and 20 on Friday,” LaFleur said Friday.
As unconventional as that approach is, it might be what gets Beck back in the groove. The Cardinals head coach clarified that it will benefit Beck more compared to the grizzled veteran in Minshew.
“As you’re trying to develop these guys, we just thought it was right to do that,” LaFleur said Friday.
“If Gardner had been a second-year guy and was our No. 2, then probably wouldn’t be doing this. But because he has played so much football, so much meaningful football in this league, understands this system, obviously took all the reps through OTAs, took a ton of reps in training camp, that’s why we felt comfortable being able to do this.”
Arizona needed Beck to get reps before they hand him the reins to the offense whenever he comes back. They can’t afford a rusty rookie fumbling their potential chance to win whenever they get one, with the incredibly challenging schedule they have.
Cardinals Handed December Return Prediction for Beck
ESPN’s Dan Graziano believes Beck’s return might still take a few months, with him predicting the timeline to be pushed to as late as December.
“I could see Beck getting some December starts,” Graziano writes.
“The third-round pick will open the season as the third-string behind Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew II. But if and when Arizona falls out of the playoff race, the Cardinals might want to give Beck some starts to see whether he’s an option for the future or whether they need to find one in the 2027 draft,” Graziano warns.
By all means, Arizona can pivot to another rookie in the 2027 NFL Draft to safeguard their future if Beck’s injury lingers. But dressing Beck as the emergency QB and carving out scout-team reps proves Arizona isn’t throwing the towel in on him yet.
Cardinals Drop Crucial Carson Beck Update for Chargers Kickoff