How Carson Beck Fits in Cardinals’ New-Look QB Room

As many anticipated, the Cardinals added to their quarterback room in the 2026 NFL draft. What wasn’t as expected was the quarterback they ended up taking.

Heading into the draft, many believed the Cardinals were in play for Alabama signal-caller Ty Simpson. The Rams beat them to it by surprisingly taking Simpson at No. 13 in the first round—but the Cardinals did address the position Friday night by taking Miami quarterback Carson Beck in the third round.

Beck joins a quarterback room which already includes two backup-bridge type quarterbacks in Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew II, and no longer features Kyler Murray, who was released in March. The room also features 2024 undrafted free agent Kedon Slovis, who projects as the fourth-stringer. New head coach Mike LaFleur said before the draft that they are not looking to name a starter at this point, leaving the three players in position to compete for the starting gig.

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Here’s a look at the three quarterbacks slated to compete for the Cardinals’ starting job.

Carson Beck

Beck comes to the Cardinals after being the third quarterback taken off the board in the draft. He gained extensive experience throughout his collegiate career, sitting for three years at Georgia before becoming the team’s starter in 2023. He started for the Bulldogs for two years before transferring to Miami for the 2025 season, when he led the Hurricanes to a CFP national championship game appearance.

Both LaFleur and general manager Monti Ossenfort highlighted Beck’s experience in big game environments as reasons that convinced them to pick him. Beck completed 72.4% of his passes for 3,813 yards, 30 touchdowns and 12 interceptions with the Hurricanes in 2025.

When asked if he hopes to compete for playing time, Beck said via Darren Urban, “I haven’t even stepped in the facility yet. Look, my approach to this entire thing is being myself, being the best player I can possibly be, and try to take advantage of every single opportunity I am given.”

Jacoby Brissett

Jacoby Brissett is entering his second season with the Cardinals and 11th season in the NFL. Brissett started for Arizona during the majority of the 2025 campaign as Murray dealt with a foot injury. Brissett completed 64.9% of his passes for 3,366 yards, 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions, but went just 11-1 as a starter.

Brissett notably chose to skip Phase 1 of the Cardinals’ offseason program as he seeks a new contract. He is reportedly seeking a contract that will pay him like a starting quarterback since he set to make a base salary of $4.88 million with $1.5 million guaranteed in 2026.

Ossenfort said Thursday that the Cardinals are in a “good spot” with Brissett. When asked how taking Beck affects their approach with Brissett, Ossenfort replied via Josh Weinfuss, “I don’t think it really does. I think it’s completely independent. Excited to add Carson in. He’s going to have two veterans to work with that have played a lot of football. Really, I think those are two independent things.”

Gardner Minshew II

Meanwhile, Gardner Minshew II signed with the Cardinals this offseason on a one-year, $8.25 million deal. Like Brissett, Minshew has experience as a starter, but has spent most of his career as a backup. Minshew, who is entering his eighth season, is joining his sixth NFL team.

In 2025, Minshew spent the majority of the season backup up Patrick Mahomes on the Chiefs. Minshew was thrust into the starting lineup after Mahomes suffered a torn ACL, but Minshew fractured his tibia shortly after, keeping him out of the end of the season. He last significant starting time for the Raiders in 2024, when he completed 66.3% of his passes for 2,013 yards, nine touchdowns and 10 picks over nine starts.

Overview of the QBs

Even with the selection of Beck, the Cardinals have no clear-cut long-term starters at the position, which sets them up well in the “March for Arch” or whatever quarterback they prefer next year.

For the present, though, Beck certainly has the chance to win the starting job, or at least earn starts during the 2025 season. He and Brissett are the better two options for the Cardinals, who appear to be building their roster around their eventual franchise quarterback.

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Eva Geitheim is an NFL writer at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in December 2024, she wrote for Newsweek, Gymnastics Now and Dodgers Nation. A Bay Area native, she has a bachelor’s in communications from UCLA. When not writing, she can be found baking or rewatching Gilmore Girls.

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