Carson Beck will be handed the opportunity to stake his claim to the starting spot in Arizona, with the Cardinals being dealt a double blow at quarterback.

The Cardinals traded NFL veteran Jacoby Brissett to the Baltimore Ravens before backup Gardner Minshew suffered a torn UCL in Sunday's loss to the Seattle Seahawks and could require surgery. Arziona has now also signed long-time veteran Josh Johnson from the Cincinnati Bengals' practice squad to their 53-man roster.

However, Beck is expected to be handed his shot front and center of the Cardinals’ offense. The 24-year-old was drafted by the Cardinals in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft following a standout college campaign with Miami, reaching the National Championship game against Indiana, led by No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza.

Beck will not be entering a steady ship, though. The Cardinals are trying to ride out a rough patch. They sit fourth in the NFC West with a 3-6 record, far off pace for a postseason berth.

And their third overall pick out of Notre Dame, Jeremiyah Love, has struggled to hit the ground running, too. Love has managed just one touchdown and is sitting 32 yards shy of 300 rushing for the season.

He’s also set for a spell on injury reserve due to a high ankle sprain and is expected to miss four total games.

Despite tough circumstances, Beck has received huge backing from his Cardinals head coach, Mike LaFleur, who says he’s “prepared” for action.

“Obviously it’s just behind the scenes. Nothing that you guys see, but I know he’s prepared to go in there if need be," LaFleur said.

"Again, just like Gardner, just like anyone that you ask that’s going to be on this team, they’re prepared as if they’re going to be the starting quarterback, or they’re prepared if they have to go in.

“I know that he has (a) full grasp of this game plan (and) of this system. It’s no secret, obviously, if something were to happen, it’d be nice to know what we have right there.

“I feel really good about where he is with his development, so if that were to come up, then obviously he’d be the next one in.”

Beck has spent time sitting behind veterans before getting his chance. Some rookie quarterbacks are thrown in at the deep end immediately.

In Beck’s case, LaFleur’s hand was forced. "It comes in all shapes and sizes. Some infrastructures in terms of the team and the dynamics of the building, sometimes it's more suitable for a rookie quarterback,” LaFleur said on rookie quarterback development in the NFL.

“Sometimes it's not suitable at all. I've been a part a few of those. Then it goes back to the player: is he ready to play physically? Is he ready to play mentally? Does he need more time?"