Cardinals To Start Rookie Qb Carson Beck Vs. Rams Following Gardner Minshew Injury, Jacoby Brissett Trade

At 3-6, and with a rash of injuries — including one to their most recent starting quarterback — the Arizona Cardinals are turning to rookie Carson Beck.

Arizona benched and then traded Jacoby Brissett. His replacement, Gardner Minshew, suffered a UCL injury this past week in Seattle during a loss to the Seahawks.

In their absence, the No. 65 overall pick in this year's draft is getting the nod in the desert.

Beck will make his first career NFL start on Sunday when the Los Angeles Rams come to town, head coach Mike LaFleur said Wednesday.

"I know this isn't too big for him," said LaFleur, who voiced that he wants the soon-to-be 25-year-old to let it rip.

The former Georgia and Miami star will be tasked with moving the ball against a defense that features premier edge rusher Myles Garrett and stout defensive tackle Aaron Donald. Beck will have to do so with a thin receiving corps.

Although tight end Trey McBride — who's first among all NFL players this season with 73 receptions — will serve as a nice security blanket for the third-round pick, Beck will be working with a group of wide receivers that's currently led by the likes of Reggie Virgil, Simi Fehoko and Devin Duvernay.

Altogether, that trio has combined for 1,235 career receiving yards, and Duvernay has accounted for 1,025 of those. He's a two-time Pro Bowler but for his return skills.

It's possible Zay Jones is pulled up from the practice squad. Either way, it'll be a lot more difficult for the Cardinals to evaluate what they really have in Beck at this point, especially compared to earlier this season when they had Michael Wilson, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Kendrick Bourne lining up at wide receiver.

Wilson, the team's WR1, is out for the season with a neck injury he sustained in Seattle this past weekend. Arizona dealt Harrison to the Houston Texans last month in Week 5. As for Bourne, he went down with a serious ankle injury during the Cardinals' Week 8 road win over the Dallas Cowboys.

Plus, Jalen Brooks — a 2023 seventh-round pick who impressed in the preseason and recently began making a regular-season impact — is done for the year due to a wrist injury he experienced in a Week 7 loss to the Denver Broncos.

Not only will Beck be playing with a hodgepodge of wideouts, but he'll also be quarterbacking behind an offensive line that's been missing left tackle Paris Johnson Jr. The blind-side protector landed on season-ending injured reserve after he tore his left biceps amid a Week 4 road defeat to the New York Giants.

And, to top it off, a notable draft classmate of Beck's, Jeremiyah Love, is currently on IR. The highly touted running back, this year's No. 3 overall pick, is dealing with his latest ankle issue.

On the bright side, Beck played outstanding in his lone preseason appearance. He got the start in the Hall of Fame Game, throwing for 188 yards and a touchdown on 15-of-19 passing against the Carolina Panthers.

Granted it was the Hall of Fame Game, but Virgil showcased some chemistry with Beck while Fehoko caught Beck's TD pass.

Those former scout team receivers are now part of a first-string offense that Beck will be commanding on Sunday.

"He was mature when he got here," LaFleur said of Beck on Wednesday. "Miami and Georgia, I think he was in two really good environments, two really good cultures to prep him for these kind of moments, whether it be in college and then in the NFL.

"So he's been a pro since he's been here. He puts in the exact amount of work that he needs."

Beck has spent most of the season behind a pair of QBs. Yet Brissett, who started the Cardinals' first eight games, is now on the Baltimore Ravens, and Minshew, Arizona's pick to start last week in Seattle, is on IR.

Perhaps it's fitting that Beck and Las Vegas Raiders rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza will each get their first career NFL start on Sunday, as they concluded their college careers facing off in the national championship.

"I think you learn through experience, but you also learn through watching other people do it, good and bad," LaFleur said, when asked about first-year signal-callers having time to sit before their number is called.

"So for Carson and having to watch Kirk Cousins over in Vegas with Mendoza, those are beneficial times. But, again, being out there and having to do it is the key."