Carson Beck is now headed to the NFL. The Arizona Cardinals selected him with the first pick of the third round. The 23-year-old is expected to step in and compete for the backup role behind starting quarterback Jacoby Brissett, especially after the team moved on from Kyler Murray earlier this offseason.

General manager Monti Ossenfort kicked off the third round by selecting Beck, a seasoned quarterback with 43 college starts, adding him to a QB room that already includes veterans Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew II.

The team announced his arrival on X: “Miami ➡️ AZ Welcome @carsonbeck01”

Beck arrives as one of the most experienced signal-callers in college football. Across his time with the Georgia Bulldogs and Miami Hurricanes, he won two national titles with Georgia and later guided Miami to the College Football Playoff Championship this past season. He capped off his 2025 campaign with an impressive 3,813 passing yards and 30 touchdowns.

Meanwhile, the 2025 season was the fourth straight losing year for the Cardinals, as they finished 3-14. Kyler Murray was placed on injured reserve after suffering a foot injury in Week 5 and was then shut down by the then-head coach, Jonathan Gannon, in December 2025.

In Murray’s absence, Jacoby Brissett took over in Week 6 and passed for 3,366 yards, 23 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions with a 94.1 passer rating in 14 games. He completed 64.9% of his passes (315-of-485) and added 168 rushing yards.

While his stats look great on paper, Brissett had a 1-11 record as a starter. Hence, the Cardinals have been apprehensive about an extension for the 33-year-old, leading to friction between him and the front office.

Since then, Brissett hasn’t been part of Arizona’s voluntary offseason workouts and is reported to stay away from the team until he gets his contract, according to Ian Rapoport.

“Jacoby Brissett is expected to be the starting quarterback,” Ian Rapoport said. “He has not been showing up for off-season conditioning. My understanding is that he is due to make five million dollars this year. Brissett wants a contract extension with more guarantees in the future and is not expected to show up until he gets that, which means there is going to be plenty of reps for Carson Beck, assuming this is an extended absence for the Arizona Cardinals.”

As highlighted by the NFL insider, if Brissett continues his holdout, the 65th pick, Carson Beck, could very well get enough reps through the offseason and start for the Cardinals as he joins Gardner Minshew as the only signal-callers on the roster.

And Beck has the experience to be Arizona’s QB1, after winning two national championships with the Georgia Bulldogs and then leading the Hurricanes to the CFP Championship this past season.

During this period, the 24-year-old finished his collegiate career with a 69.5% completion rate, 88 touchdown passes against 32 interceptions, and a 37-6 record as a starter. As speculation continues about who will start for the Cardinals in the 2026 season, Carson Beck has revealed what he hopes for in his rookie season in Arizona.

Carson Beck shares a clear plan for his rookie season in Arizona

Before the 2026 draft, Carson Beck wasn’t high on many mock drafts, with this class not including too many quality quarterback prospects. However, Beck found himself drafted as the QB3 of this class and now will have the chance to showcase the talent that made him one of the top signal-callers in college football over the last few years.

However, as he gears up for a dream come true, Carson Beck spoke about his simple plan for handling his new life as an Arizona Cardinals quarterback in the NFL.

“My approach to this whole thing is being myself, being the best player that I possibly can be, and just trying to take advantage of every single opportunity that I’m given,” Carson Beck said, as per ESPN. “But, again, I’m super grateful. I don’t know what that will look like. I’m not sure what’s going to happen in the future, but I know for sure that I’m going to step in there and, again, try to take advantage of every opportunity I can and just put my best foot forward every day.”

Carson Beck arrives in Arizona with a proven college pedigree and an opportunity-driven mindset. With Jacoby Brissett’s contract holdout potentially opening the door sooner than expected, Beck may find himself thrust into the starting role earlier than anticipated and could be the quarterback the Cardinals were hoping for in the 2026 season.