How the Cardinals are keeping Carson Beck sharp, Gardner Mishew’s impact to the process

TEMPE — Arizona Cardinals rookie quarterback Carson Beck saw just one exhibition game in what was expected to be a hefty preseason workload for the 2026 third-round pick.

Instead, rib discomfort ruined that thinking, with Beck missing practice and more importantly, the rest of Arizona’s preseason slate.

Despite the layoff, LaFleur told Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo he didn’t feel like Beck was “behind” due to the missed time.

But how? The team’s plan for the rookie and veteran Gardner Minshew II paints a much clearer picture and highlights Arizona’s proactiveness at QB.

How are the Cardinals going about keeping rookie Carson Beck sharp after missing out on a ton of valuable preseason reps?

Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur opened up about the team’s plan that includes splitting reps with backup Gardner Minshew II at practice ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/8S2ExM1mIE

— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) September 11, 2026

“Not all the time, but typically the backup quarterback, who is Gardner, gets all the look-squad reps, if you will. So, 32 on Wednesday, 36 on Thursday, 20 on Friday. With our situation, we’re splitting it up, so making sure that Carson is connected with it,” LaFleur said Friday.

“Even if we had not done that, the other thing that we do with kind of those potential inactives, the practice squad guys, the guys that just don’t get a ton of reps with their side. After practice, they have a 5-to-10-minute window where in Carson’s case, he can spot throw through the script and stuff like that.”

It’s all about keeping Beck as connected as possible even though the game reps aren’t expected to be there right out of the gates.

But given the nature of the NFL, Minshew and Beck are one or two plays away from being that next man up.

Nothing beats snaps in a game, but the next best thing is higher-level practice reps for when a quarterback’s number is called.

 

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It’s not like Minshew is in desperate need of time on task, either.

Getting a ton of practice reps throughout organized team activities and minicamp while Jacoby Brissett was in the middle of contract negotiations, Minshew got a good grasp of the offense right away.

He also saw parts of three preseason games this year, only adding to his knowledge of LaFleur’s scheme. Having 63 career games (47 starts) to fall back on doesn’t hurt.

“Gardner’s played a lot of football and Carson hasn’t in the NFL. As you’re trying to develop these guys, we just thought it was right to do that. Had Gardner been a second-year guy and was our No. 2, then we probably wouldn’t be doing this.”

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