Slow-rolling Carson Beck is a luxury the Cardinals simply don’t have

TEMPE — The Green Bay Packers are among the gold standard when it comes to developing quarterbacks.

With Brett Favre still doing his thing, they went out and added Aaron Rodgers as the heir apparent in 2005. It was a successful move that resulted in a ton of wins, multiple MVPs and a Super Bowl once Rodgers got his shot after years of waiting on the sideline.

Green Bay pulled a similar move with the addition of Jordan Love in 2020. Rodgers wasn’t on his way out just yet, allowing Love to learn more of the intricacies of the NFL before being thrown into the fire.

Since taking over, Love has taken the Packers to the postseason in each of his three seasons as the full-time starter.

Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett saw the first two years of that Rodgers-Love transition during his time as Green Bay’s OC from 2019-21.

Naturally, that’s the kind of soft landing you want for a rookie signal caller.

The Cardinals, however, don’t have the luxury of having an All-Pro currently under center. They must see what they have in rookie Carson Beck ahead of a potentially loaded quarterback class in the 2027 NFL Draft and hope Beck can pick up the NFL game without having one of the best quarterbacks to learn from.

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“We have to coach them all like they’re starters,” Hackett said Thursday. “When that time comes, whenever that is, it’ll be there. Right now, we just have to keep pushing him. You want young guys to stay out as long as they possibly can. Just learn. Just even the process through a week, the process through a season. It’s a marathon through training camp, preseason games, a 17-game season, the speed of the game. It’s like nothing else.

“There’s so many things that go through a quarterback’s mind from just what hash, why that call, what are the statistics, am I throwing right, am I throwing left, where’s one, what do I do with the protection? I can go on and on with everything that they have to think about, and college sometimes is a little different. … There’s just so many different things that you want them to be able to learn and grow as much as they can before you put him out there.”

The biggest changes for Beck at the next level include more under-center looks and nailing down the snap count and cadence. Remember the clap-gate of 2019? Let’s not relive that.

And although he’s getting coached up as a starter, Arizona isn’t throwing him into the fire during practice. During the open portion of organized team activities, he very much was working on the fundamentals as the third-team option behind Gardner Minshew II and Kedon Slovis. And that’s without projected Week 1 starter Jacoby Brissett in the mix as he remains away from the team amid contract negotiations.

That will likely change as Beck continues to pick up the offense and move up the depth chart, but there’s clearly a concerted effort to keep him and the rest of the rookies from getting too far ahead of themselves. Jeremiyah Love and Chase Bisontis, who could find themselves in the starting lineup by Week 1, saw similar treatment as they get their NFL feet wet.

“He is a rookie and they’re difficult at times. I mean they come from a different system, a different world, a different speed. So with Carson, we get extra time with him because he’s a rookie,” Hackett said. “So you work through a lot of things that either the guys already know or we just kind of have to push them just because of lack of experience.

“But once we’re in that room, we talk to them all like they’re going to be out there. You have to, because if you are thrown out there, nobody cares what year you are, how many games you’ve played. So, it’s been great and all those guys are working really hard and we try to treat them very equal.”

Slow-rolling Beck is a dream scenario for the Cardinals. There’s no doubt there. Learning the ins and outs of the playbook, the snap count and scheme can go a long way in making the transition from practice field to Sundays far less hairy.

Thinking less means good things on the football field. And for a quarterback, there’s a lot to process on a given play.

There’s also the team aspect to consider here, too. There’s a world where Beck doesn’t see the field (at least not early on) thanks to team success in 2026.

The only problem? That world feels like it’s in a completely different universe and Arizona’s hyperdrive is busted beyond repair.

The reality is the Cardinals are coming off a 3-14 mark, have another new head coach running the show, play in the toughest division in football and were absolutely smoked defensively across the second half of last year.

Anyone under center for this franchise is going to be up against it no matter what given Arizona’s current circumstance.

And whether he is ready or not, that signal caller could be Beck sooner rather than later.

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