Pros and cons: Should the Cardinals just go to Carson Beck now?

The Arizona Cardinals have reached the trade deadline with a 3-6 record, losing their final argument to the front office to stand pat and not sell by 2 p.m. MST on Tuesday.

Arizona lost to the Seattle Seahawks 17-3 on Sunday with quarterback Gardner Minshew making his first start of the season, falling to three games back of the third wild card spot. The Cardinals failed to reach the end zone for the second time in four games.

Edge rusher Josh Sweat, safety Budda Baker and cornerback Garrett Williams headline Arizona’s trade candidates, and a decision to sell would send a clear message: The rest of this season is about evaluating and developing the talent that may be part of the next contending Cardinals team.

The quarterback position is included in that group, so is this the natural pivot point to give rookie Carson Beck his shot?

Two things can be true. Perhaps Minshew, a journeyman veteran with 48 NFL starts, gives the Cardinals a better chance to win games than Beck would presently. But giving Beck as many bites at the apple to prove himself may be more important than potentially winning an extra game or two.

The Cardinals felt confident enough in Beck to move him up the depth chart this past week, increasing his workload in practice and inching him closer to game action. Minshew took a shot to his throwing arm at the end of the first half in Seattle, nearly leading to Beck having to come in as an injury replacement. Minshew came back out for the second half and played the rest of the game.

Beck had not been active for a game this season entering Sunday, as he operated as the emergency third option. Minshew took over as the starter with Beck moving into the QB2 role last week. Jacoby Brissett was swiftly traded to Baltimore.

The offense jolted to life in Week 8 against a struggling Dallas defense when Minshew took over, but that momentum was halted by a much better unit in Seattle.

What are the pros and cons of making another quarterback change now or in the coming weeks?

Pros and cons: Time for Carson Beck?

Pros: Gives Beck as many chances to prove himself and adjust to the pro level as possible 

The Cardinals have eight games left to play this season, a half-campaign sample size for a young quarterback to make his mistakes and attempt to show enough growth to compete for a starting role next season.

Beck played six college seasons in Power 5 (and 4) conferences; five years at Georgia and one with Miami. The Hurricanes reached the National Championship last season but fell to Indiana. He was not considered a potential first-round quarterback by analysts, but he is about to turn 25 years old with many games under his belt against high-level competition in college.

The rookie generated some local excitement with a standout performance in his preseason debut on Aug. 6 against the Carolina Panthers (15-for-19, 188 yards and a touchdown). A rib injury kept him out for the rest of preseason, costing him valuable in-game reps.

Can Beck play well enough to help the Cardinals play competitively down the stretch and make an argument that he should start next season, circa Jake Plummer in 1997? Or will he struggle to prevent the Cardinals from looking to address the quarterback position in the draft again, more like Josh Rosen in 2018?

As the backup quarterback, he has finally received the chance to get more playing time in practice on the scout team.

But there is no replicate for live, in-game reps against NFL defenses.

Cons: There is an obvious softer landing

The Cardinals face the Los Angeles Rams — with a healthy Myles Garrett coming off a three-sack performance — next week at State Farm Stadium before hitting the road for a meeting with the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead.

The schedule lightens up after that with five of the final six games at home, including three in a row against the Commanders, Eagles and Jets, none of whom are playoff contenders.

The Cardinals have a compromised offense with a banged-up line and several key playmakers on injured reserve.

Is it more beneficial to let Beck play through the adversity off the bat or give Minshew the opportunity to operate the offense for another couple of games before it is time to re-evaluate?

Additionally, the Cardinals would be going through another significant change in the span of a couple weeks.

The Cardinals just turned the keys over to Minshew, and while he had built-in rapport with the offense from his offseason work as the starter — Brissett held out while negotiating a contract — there is still an operational and chemistry adjustment, as Sunday illustrated.

Are the Cardinals really ready to go through another pivot, but this time with a rookie who has been a third-stringer for most of the season? That’s a large ask for everyone on the offense, especially Beck.

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