Rookie QB Carson Beck may very well be the Arizona Cardinals‘ starter on Sunday, following the latest bout of brutal injury news.
On Monday, after their 17-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur had rough news to deliver.
Recently-promoted starter Gardner Minshew suffered an arm injury against Seattle, while Michael Wilson, Arizona’s top wideout, will miss the rest of the 2026 season with a fracture in his neck.
Cardinals’ Carson Beck likely to start this week
After Minshew engineered a wild comeback over the Cowboys, earning a QB1 promotion and ushering Jacoby Brissett out of the organization in the process, his status for next week is now in serious question. His season may be over.
Minshew suffered an injury to his throwing arm against Seattle. He’ll undergo tests this week and is questionable for Arizona’s home matchup with the Los Angeles Rams, but the fear — according to Ian Rapoport — is that he has suffered a torn UCL in his elbow, which would require surgery and end his 2026 season a little over one game in. It would be the same or similar to Tommy John surgery, the common baseball-related elbow procedure.
That means one thing: rookie Carson Beck is now Arizona’s QB1. Ironically, Beck had the same injury and subsequent surgery in 2024 while playing for Georgia. He’s battled some minor injuries this year, as well, but appears ready to go now.
LaFleur said he would have more on Minshew’s status Wednesday, though more information will likely surface before that. If Minshew has to miss time, which the head coach acknowledged as a possibility, Beck would make his Cardinals debut. Based on external reports, it sounds more likely than not this will be the case.
Beck, the rookie out of Miami who Arizona drafted 65th overall in the third round, had been inactive on game days as the emergency third QB ever since his impressive performance in the Hall Of Fame Game this preseason. The Brissett trade pushed him to QB2 and active.
LaFleur said the 0ffense’s transition to Beck, if needed, would not be overwhelmingly difficult.
“It’s not like it’s the difference between a wing T offense and a spread offense. Foundationally, we’re gonna do a lot of similar stuff, right? And a lot of the stuff that Carson likes… [is] the same stuff that Gardner likes, I mean, they like this system and so that’s not a hard one.”
Fans have called for Beck for some time — understandably so. The future of Arizona’s QB room depends on what he can show this year, good or bad.
And that clock has likely already begun to tick this week. The future appears to be now — but Beck will have to operate without the services of the Cardinals’ top wide receiver following more unwelcome injury news.
Cardinals’ Michael Wilson out for season with neck injury
Wilson, meanwhile, is confirmed to be out for the season — a crushing blow to the Cardinals’ offense. He had already been playing through two broken ribs. The injury, LaFleur said, occurred on the fourth play of Sunday’s game.
Wilson did not mention anything beyond some mild discomfort in his neck and ended up playing the entire game. He led the Cardinals’ pass-catchers with six receptions for 60 yards in the process.
“He said he just kind of had a kink in his neck, but he’s such a warrior that he didn’t think much of it,” LaFleur said. “And then obviously when the adrenaline wore down and he got his test today, that’s when we knew.”
LaFleur did not offer specifics as to the severity or path ahead for Wilson. He did say he was not concerned about an injury to such a sensitive area becoming a longer-term issue, however. He would not go further than that.
Wilson was on pace for another strong season. After breaking out for his first 1,000-yard campaign in 2025, Arizona’s No. 1 receiver had 51 catches for 546 yards and two touchdowns in nine games this season. That earned him a three-year, $75 million contract — the very reason why, Wilson has noted repeatedly, that he feels a desire to play through injuries when possible.
Beyond concerns abut Wilson’s long-term health, Arizona’s offense is now down to third- and fourth-stringers.
With Marvin Harrison Jr. traded, as well as season-ending injuries to Kendrick Bournes, Jalen Brooks and now Wilson, the Cardinals have little depth remaining. Players like rookie fifth-rounder Reggie Virgil, Simi Fehoko, Devin Duvernay and the recently-re-signed Zay Jones are just about the only healthy wideouts remaining on the roster.
It will be next man up for LaFleur’s offensive unit, as it has been for some time.
“It’s one of 32, and no one’s gonna feel sorry for you,” LaFleur said. “You get these guys ready, whoever we got lined up, whoever [is] gonna be up on game day, we get them ready to go play football.”
“That’s the good part about being where your feet are, not looking too far ahead. We have an opportunity to go 1-0 this week. Put together the best plan we can as coaches, provide as much clarity as we can, and let these guys go shoot their shot. And so we got more than capable guys, and we’re gonna go get it done.”
It’s this type of situation that allows fans to see how innovative an offensive play caller can be. LaFleur has shown signs of positivity in that regard, but this test will be even tougher. What will LaFleur be able to accomplish with the ever-durable Trey McBride and a host of deep depth-chart players?
LaFleur is welcoming that challenge.
“Figure out what they can do, put your head down, go to work. That’s all you can do. That’s all I ask these guys to do. And really the message doesn’t change from last week either. … Control what you can control, and that’s all I can do as well, right?
“We’re gonna field a team. We’re playing on Sunday, and let’s go. And I’m excited to see who’s gonna step up, that does give me excitement. That should give these guys a lot of excitement to have an opportunity. And so I am excited for that.”
Next man up.
