Carson Beck is heading to the desert, possibly to be the Arizona Cardinals’ next franchise quarterback.
With the Cardinals moving on from former Oklahoma star Kyler Murray, there was a need at quarterback in Arizona. The Cardinals grabbed Beck with the first pick of the third round, No. 65 overall, putting their faith in the former Georgia and Miami signal caller who nearly led the Hurricanes to a national championship last season.
Beck became the third quarterback to be picked in this draft, following Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, who went No. 1 overall to the Las Vegas Raiders, and Alabama‘s Ty Simpson, who was picked 13th overall by the Los Angeles Rams. Mendoza and Simpson both heard their names called on Thursday night, but Beck had to wait another 24 hours, becoming a Day 2 pick and possibly becoming the new guy in Arizona after Murray was there for 7 seasons.
With Murray now in Minnesota, Beck has a great chance to start right away for the Cardinals. Beck had a whirlwind of a college football career that began in Athens, where he was in the Georgia program for 5 seasons from 2020-24. But Beck had to wait his turn at Georgia, finally starting during the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
Like our coverage? Make SDS a preferred source in your searches!
Beck had a 24-3 record as a starter at Georgia during those 2 seasons, but he moved on to Miami for the 2025 campaign. That last collegiate season was a special one, as Beck led the Hurricanes all the way to the national title game, where they fell to Mendoza and the Hoosiers.
Now, Beck is officially an NFL quarterback, and just maybe he’ll be an NFL starting quarterback in a few short months in Arizona.
Miami will be starting a new quarterback in 2026 with Beck gone, as the Hurricanes try to get back to the College Football Playoff after losing in the title game last season. Here is what the Kalshi market is saying about their College Football Playoff odds this fall:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
