Arizona Cardinals non-committal on Carson Beck competing for starting QB job

The Arizona Cardinals brass didn’t quite commit to rookie QB Carson Beck competing for the starting job in 2026. GM Monti Ossenfort and new head coach Mike LaFleur selected Beck in the third round of the NFL Draft Friday night.

Beck has a lot of snaps under his belt with Georgia and then Miami this past season. But just because he’s thrown the ball a ton and had some success doesn’t mean he’ll be under center Week 1 in 2026.

“We just announced his name about a half hour ago. We just want to get him in the building,” Ossenfort said. “We’re excited to have great competition in that room and we’ll see how it shakes out.”

Beck transferred from Georgia to Miami after the 2024 season. He made the most of his one season with the Hurricanes, leading the team to a national championship appearance.

Beck finished the season with 3,813 passing yards, 30 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and a 72.4 percent completion percentage. He was named to the All-ACC Third Team and named Offensive MVP of the Fiesta Bowl/College Football Payoff semifinal game against Ole Miss.

“It benefits anyone at any position to be able to sit back,” LaFleur said. “Sometimes guys don’t have a choice because you have to put your best 22 on the field, so we’ll see where this all shakes out.”

If Beck does sit back, he’ll sit behind Jacoby Brissett and potentially Gardner Minshew. The Cardinals drafted Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love with the No. 3 overall pick, so they’re clearly trying to set up a core for the future. Beck might be the man under center at some point, though.

“We spent a lot of time with Carson, met him at the Combine, brought him in for a 30 visit, there was no shortage of tape on Carson,” Ossenfort said. “Carson played in a lot of big-game environments. Played in a lot of intense environments in the SEC … and then the highest stage he could play on in the National Championship Game.”