As the 2026 NFL regular season continues to move forward, teams around the league are beginning to feel the effects of the mounting injuries that inevitably occur each year at the highest level of the sport.
The Arizona Cardinals, in particular, have been ravaged by injuries on both sides of the ball, with starting quarterback Gardner Minshew becoming the latest casualty after suffering a season-ending UCL tear against Seattle in Week 9.
With veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett now in Baltimore, ESPN insider Adam Schefter reports that the Cardinals are now turning to rookie signal caller Carson Beck as they prepare to take on the Rams this Sunday.
A third-round pick by Arizona in last May’s NFL Draft, this will be Beck’s first career start at the NFL level. He saw some playing time during the preseason with the Cardinals, but Sunday will mark the first time he has taken a snap in a regular-season game.
Beck gained plenty of experience as a starting quarterback at the college level, notching 43 total starts in 3 seasons with the Georgia Bulldogs and Miami Hurricanes while compiling a 37-6 record.
That wealth of college experience, combined with what many scouts believed to be a relatively high floor as a passer, were two of the main reasons the Cardinals selected the soon-to-be 25-year-old. Now, he’ll have an opportunity to show Arizona’s front office that he has what it takes to become the franchise’s quarterback of the future when he takes on a stout LA defense this Sunday.
