Good morning — The Beckoning is here.

The Arizona Cardinals, for as brutal a season as 2026 may have been up to this point, have reached a pseudo-finish line. Rookie QB Carson Beck will be taking over as the starter.

And with that comes a world of hope, intrigue and excitement that has been missing from Arizona’s beleaguered football team. Let’s talk about it.

— Alex D’Agostino, PHNX WKLY Editor

Cardinals starting Carson Beck for first time vs Rams

Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Minshew Mania lasted a little over one week. After about five quarters, Arizona’s recently-named starter went down with a UCL injury in his elbow. That left the Cardinals no choice but to turn to Carson Beck, their third-round pick and No. 65 overall pick against the Los Angeles Rams this Sunday.

The irony is not lost here that it was that same type of injury that threw a wrench into Beck’s college career. Now, it’s the reason he’s starting.

But it’s not the only reason. The Cardinals likely knew they would have to see what Beck had to offer at some point this year. It was obvious Jacoby Brissett was not the answer, and Minshew likely wouldn’t have been a long-term solution, either.

Beck, barring injury himself, could get up to eight starts’ worth of evaluation. In terms of tools and fit, the 25-year-old has, on paper, what it takes to get the job done.

He’s got a good arm; he processes quickly for someone with his lack of NFL experience (Trey McBride said that, not me); and he stands for hope, intrigue and excitement, which the Cardinals have lacked recently.

But for Beck’s lack of NFL experience, he’s certainly not a raw prospect. He appeared in 55 games in his college career at Georgia and Miami. In parts of six college seasons, he completed 69.5% of his passes for 11,725 yards, 88 touchdowns and 32 interceptions. He’s already got a rapport with guys like McBride, Reggie Virgil and others.

My Take: Whether or not Beck has what it takes to be the franchise QB — something fans and media are quite split on — is irrelevant. This is about evaluation. It’s about seeing the traits in Beck that suggest he’s the right guy, with the negative alternative serving as full confirmation to pivot and pursue other QB options this offseason.

There is no pressure on Beck to perform against a tough Rams defense, or with a banged-up offensive unit. He’s not feeling pressure anyway, but there are two options here: Beck plays well and gives Arizona more hope, or he struggles and lands them a high pick in 2027.

Personally, I like what I heard from Beck at his Wednesday presser, as well as what his coach and teammates had to say about him. He has the energy and confidence of a player who knows what it takes to be successful in this league, and his physical limitations are a bit overblown, in my opinion.

He’s more athletic than either of his Cardinals predecessors, and if he truly can process at an above-average level, this is a guy who is more than capable of running Mike LaFleur’s offense. A lot more has to go right for him to be the answer, but for right now, he’s a question well worth asking.

Now, let’s see what else is going on in Arizona sports this week:

The Suns are beginning to bounce back from their slow start. They went 3-1 this week with wins over the Rockets, Clippers and Hornets. Phoenix improves to 5-6 with a 2:00 p.m. game at home against the Lakers coming Sunday.
The Sun Devils beat Colorado 20-10 in football on Saturday. They’ll get No. 25 Oklahoma State tomorrow at 8:15 p.m. at home. Men’s basketball leveled Northern Colorado and Hofstra and Women’s basketball took down UNLV 65-58.
The Wildcats (No. 23) won a wild game against TCU at home 29-28. They’re staring down No. 2 Utah tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. at home. Men’s basketball (No. 12) crushed NAU and gets Auburn on the road tonight at 7:00, while the Wildcat women beat Iona, but fell to No. 10 UCLA last night.
The Diamondbacks got a seventh-place Cy Young finish for Eduardo Rodriguez, an 11th-place NL Reliever of the Year finish for Brandyn Garcia, and an All-MLB first-team nomination for Gabriel Moreno, who also placed sixth in NL MVP voting last night.