Carson Beck hasn’t taken a regular-season snap yet, but the Arizona Cardinals keep drifting toward the rookie. Jacoby Brissett has thrown five interceptions in five games, three of them in the loss to the Giants, and ESPN’s Bill Barnwell put him on his Week 6 hot seat list Thursday.
The answer looks like yes, just not this Sunday against the Rams. Asked Wednesday about a change in Beck’s role, Mike LaFleur said, “Nothing new for this week, no,” which leaves Beck as the inactive emergency quarterback behind Brissett and Gardner Minshew II. With the Nov. 10 trade deadline approaching and a rebuild underway, the calendar favors the rookie.
Why the Cardinals’ plans point to Beck
Brissett is completing 66.3% of his passes for 1,110 yards with nine touchdown passes, but he’s averaging just 5.6 yards per attempt. Barnwell noted Brissett ranks 30th in yards per dropback and the Cardinals are last in explosive play rate at 5.5%. PFF is kinder, giving him an 81.2 overall grade that ranks ninth among 34 quarterbacks.
LaFleur hasn’t pinned the skid on his starter. The day after the 45-21 loss to the Lions, he said, “That was not on the quarterback,” but he didn’t close the door either.
“Right now, Gardner is our backup. But if we feel like (Beck being available is) going to give us our best chance to be successful on Sunday, then we’ll certainly have those discussions,” LaFleur told Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo on Monday.
The front office’s moves point the same direction. Arizona sent Marvin Harrison Jr. and a 2027 sixth-round pick to Houston for the Texans’ 2027 second- and seventh-round picks, and Barnwell expects the Cardinals to draft a quarterback next spring. Beck, the No. 65 overall pick, went 15 of 19 for 188 yards and a touchdown in the Hall of Fame Game before a rib injury cost him the rest of the preseason. Fans around the Valley have wanted to see more of him since that night in Canton. If a team calls about Brissett before the deadline, Barnwell suggested Arizona could ride with Beck and Minshew, and the rookie may be starting by November regardless.
More on the Arizona Cardinals
- Kyler Murray’s Unbeaten Vikings Give the Cardinals a $36 Million Reason to Wince
- Cardinals Rookie Grades: Jeremiyah Love’s 67.7 PFF Grade Is Slipping Before a Rams Rebound Spot
- Jacoby Brissett Is No. 26 in New QB Rankings, and Sunday at the Rams Could Decide His Job
- How Far Did the Cardinals Fall in NFL Power Rankings After Their Blowout Loss to the Lions?
