Carson Beck starts for Cardinals

Carson Beck will take the first snap of Arizona’s preseason on Thursday night after the Cardinals said the rookie quarterback will start against the Carolina Panthers in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio. The start gives Beck his first NFL game action less than four months after Arizona selected him in the third round of the 2026 draft. Mike LaFleur, in his first preseason as Cardinals head coach, announced the decision this week as Arizona opens its exhibition schedule. Carolina is expected to start Kenny Pickett on the other side, according to NFL.com. ### How did Beck get this start so quickly? The Cardinals announced on Tuesday that Beck would open the game, making him the first Arizona quarterback to appear this preseason. Beck said afterward that he did not expect the assignment. “I had no clue I was going to start,” he said after the team’s jog-through practice, according to the club’s website. (azcardinals.com) Arizona drafted Beck with the 65th overall pick in April after a college career that spanned Georgia and Miami. The Cardinals’ roster page says Beck appeared in 55 college games, made 43 starts and finished with a 37-6 record as a starting quarterback. In 2025, his lone season at Miami, he led the Hurricanes to the national championship game, according to the team site. (azcardinals.com) ### Where does Beck fit on Arizona’s quarterback depth chart? CBS Sports listed Jacoby Brissett as Arizona’s starting quarterback on its current depth chart, with Gardner Minshew behind him and Beck also on the roster. CBS also reported that LaFleur announced Beck would start Thursday’s game, a move that offers an early look at the rookie while veteran options remain in place. (azcardinals.com) July 22 marked another step in Beck’s transition to the NFL when he signed his rookie contract as players reported to camp. The Cardinals said at the time that whether Beck would start regular-season games remained to be determined, but his deal made him the final Arizona draft pick to come under contract. (cbssports.com) ### What are coaches and evaluators watching in Beck’s debut? Arizona’s team media said the focus in Beck’s first exhibition appearance goes beyond box-score production. On the club’s “Red Sea Report” podcast, Craig Grialou and former Cardinals linebacker Lorenzo Alexander said they would be watching Beck’s command of the huddle, decision-making, response to pressure and overall poise. (azcardinals.com) The Cardinals’ own preview framed the game as Beck’s first taste of NFL action, a setting that gives coaches live reps to evaluate his operation of the offense against another team. That comes in a game that traditionally serves as the league’s preseason opener. ### What is the setting for this game? (azcardinals.com) The NFL’s Hall of Fame Game is scheduled for Thursday, August 6, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. Arizona is making its first appearance in the game since 2017 and its sixth overall, while Carolina is returning to the event for the first time since the Panthers’ inaugural 1995 season, NFL.com said. (azcardinals.com) CBS Sports’ game listing showed kickoff at 8 p.m. Eastern on NBC. Arizona’s official site also published viewing and streaming information for the August 6 matchup. ### Who else is making a debut Thursday night? Mike LaFleur is opening his first preseason as Arizona’s head coach after the Cardinals went 3-14 in 2025, according to CBS Sports’ team information pages. (azcardinals.com) Thursday’s game is also the first public game setting for several Arizona rookies, with Beck drawing the most attention because he is handling the opening series at quarterback. (cbssports.com) Thursday night’s matchup pairs Beck with a Carolina team that NFL.com said plans to start Kenny Pickett. Arizona’s next preseason evaluations will continue after Canton, but the first live benchmark for Beck comes August 6 under the lights at the Hall of Fame Game. (nfl.com) (cbssports.com)