Carson Beck showed out in his first NFL appearance.
During the Cardinals’ opening preseason matchup against the Panthers at the NFL Hall of Fame Game on Thursday, Beck, 24, racked up 188 passing yards and a touchdown while completing 15-of-19 attempts before being removed during the second half.
Beck’s start was the first of his professional career after Arizona drafted him in the third round of the 2026 draft in April.
The Cardinals announced on Tuesday that Beck — who is slated to be Arizona’s third-string QB behind Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew II — would be starting Thursday’s preseason game as Brissett and Minshew were not expected to suit up.
Beck admitted that he had no idea that he was going to start the game, but said he was “really excited ” nonetheless.
“I had no clue I was going to start,” Beck said Tuesday, according to ESPN.
“I really didn’t have any expectations of going into any of this. Obviously, our schedule is absolutely crazy right now, practice, meetings with training camp and whatnot,” he added. “But, yeah, I’m looking forward to it. I’m really excited.”
Entering the draft as a two-time national champion with Georgia and leading Miami to the championship game last season, many were shocked when Beck slid to the third round, in which some speculated was partly because of his “loner” personality, an AFC coordinator told Sports Illustrated in April.
“Big kid, very smart, another guy that’s well prepared from the neck up,” the coordinator said. “He has a big enough arm. He’s a marginal athlete, but I think he’s got the ability to navigate the pocket, does a good job of mitigating bad plays, and his sack avoidance is good — the sacks he takes are minimized.
“He just plays within himself. He was asked to do more at Georgia, but he’s capable of all that stuff, as far as controlling what’s out there. Floor is a good backup, and I would be surprised if he’s a low-end starter.”
During his final college season at Miami, Beck threw for 30 touchdowns with 12 interceptions, leading the ACC with 338 completions while helping the Hurricanes to the College Football Playoff final before losing to undefeated Indiana.
Beck, who threw an interception late in the 27-24 loss, placed the blame on himself in the final game of his college career.
“For it to end like that is hard,” Beck told reporters. “It’s really tough, especially to battle the way that we did in the second half. To have a chance to win at the end, it says a lot about us.
“But to lose it — it really hurts.”
