Arizona Cardinals third-round quarterback Carson Beck took the long route to the NFL, spending six seasons in college. That marathon gives the rookie signal-caller a savvy perspective.
"I think everybody has to run their own race," Beck said on Thursday, . "Those three years I had of playing and starting are priceless."
Beck got a reminder of how long he stayed in college when he met up with Cardinals left tackle Paris Johnson Jr., who enters Year 4. The two visited Georgia together during the college recruiting process.
"That really aged me a little bit," Beck quipped.
Beck joined the Bulldogs in 2020 and took over the starting duties in 2023 and 2024 before transferring to Miami last year. He started 43 games over the past three seasons. The new Cards QB believes that his vast experience will serve him well as he takes on the difficult challenge of battling for playing time at the most important position in professional sports.
"Experience is nothing if there is no application from the lessons that you've learned from the experiences," Beck said.
At the very least, the rookie has been around enough coaches in his time to soak up the speak.
Beck, who turns 25 in November, flashed tremendous upside in college, showing good accuracy, ability to get through reads, and excellent play-action ability, which will serve him well under first-year coach Mike LaFleur.
Unlike most of the other rookie QBs, Beck landed in a spot without a long-term established starter. Jacoby Brissett played well last year and is the presumptive starter, but has been skipping voluntary offseason work as he seeks a new contract. Brissett has been a career bridge. Ditto for fellow veteran Gardner Minshew. Both have experience, but neither is the long-term solution. That opens the door for Beck to slide through with impressive offseason performances. If the Cards struggle in 2026, expect the rookie to get some run at some point -- Arizona will want to know what it has in the QB before entering the 2027 draft.
"Even if I were to be the guy at some point, you are constantly learning, through game experience, through past experience, meetings, just talking to guys around the facility, you're trying to get breadcrumbs from each and every person," Beck said. "There's only one guy out there (at quarterback). ... Obviously, I would love to play and perform but again, we'll see where it takes me."
