Carson Beck had “no clue” he was going to start the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game until this week. He was the last to know.
As (almost) everyone knows, veteran quarterbacks don’t generally play in the Hall of Fame Game.
The third-round rookie is new to this thing, though.
“I thought I was going to play, but I had no expectations,” Beck said Tuesday, via Darren Urban of the team website. “Obviously our schedule has been crazy right now. But I’m looking forward to it.”
Coach Mike LaFleur has not publicly addressed playing time for his quarterbacks, but with Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew expected to spend the night on the sideline, Beck likely sees most of the playing time. Fourth-stringer Kedon Slovis also could play.
Beck said he hasn’t been nervous for a game since he was 8 years old and playing for his Pop Warner city championship, and that won’t change Thursday night.
“It’s a game at the end of the day,” Beck said. “Not really any nerves. More excitement than anything.”
Beck, 24, spent six seasons in college and played in the national championship game last season for the University of Miami. So, he should be unfazed playing a preseason game against the Panthers on Thursday.
“That’s one of the best things about him, all of his experience,” offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett said. “His age, his understanding that things are going to go good, [and] they are going to go bad. You can never get too excited; you can never get too frustrated.”
Cardinals Clips
The Patriots claimed wide receiver Tejhaun Palmer off waivers on Tuesday, the team announced. The Cardinals waived Palmer on Monday.
In a corresponding move, the Patriots released rookie tight end Jeremiah Franklin.
Palmer, 26, entered the NFL as a sixth-round draft pick by Arizona in 2024 out of UAB. He spent the majority of his first two NFL seasons on the practice squad.
He signed with Arizona’s active roster on Jan. 3 and saw action in the regular-season finale.
Franklin, 22, signed with the Patriots as a rookie free agent from Boston College on July 24. He appeared in 41 games during his four seasons at Boston College and finished with 93 receptions for 1,010 yards and six touchdowns.
Cardinals fans will get their first chance to see rookie quarterback Carson Beck in game action on Thursday night.
Head coach Mike LaFleur announced on Tuesday that Beck will get the start against the Panthers in the Hall of Fame Game. LaFleur did not lay out the plan for the rest of the game for the quarterback spot, but it seems unlikely that Jacoby Brissett or Gardner Minshew would get tabbed for any work with the third-round pick starting the game.
LaFleur did not hold a press conference on Tuesday, but said on Monday that he thought Beck had his best practice of camp over the weekend.
“I thought it was probably the best, and I thought I think our second and third groups have operated a pretty high clip thus far,” LaFleur said, via the team’s website. “Probably the best that they have operated in terms of just you know getting set and going. … They were mimicking the plays that we’re going to run on Thursday night, so that they have a good feel for it.”
Kedon Slovis is the fourth quarterback on the roster in Arizona and will likely see playing time after Beck’s night in Canton comes to an end.
For the first time in a quarter century, the Cardinals have a new radio play-by-play voice.
J.P. Shadrick, who has called NFL games on the radio for Westwood One and worked for the Jaguars’ in-house media department, was announced today as the new radio voice of the Cardinals.
Shadrick replaces Dave Pasch, who had been the Cardinals’ radio voice for the last 24 seasons but announced in June that he was leaving the team to sign an exclusive contract with ESPN. Pasch had previously been splitting his time between ESPN and the Cardinals.
“Dave Pasch is one of the great voices in our game and I appreciate the high standard that he left behind,” Shadrick said. “I’m eager to work toward matching that but also take it further in my own style.”
Shadrick will work with former Cardinals center A.Q. Shipley, who is heading into his second season as the team’s radio analyst.
The Cardinals drafted defensive tackle Walter Nolen with the 16th overall pick in 2025. He played six games with no starts and totaled 11 tackles, two sacks and five quarterback hits.
“I don’t feel like I did enough,” Nolen said, via Darren Urban of the team website. “Being healthy is a big part of it.”
Nolen had a calf injury early and a meniscus tear in his left knee late.
He was limping on the sideline during Friday’s practice, but Nolen is healthy.
“I’m great. It was just a little hiccup,” Nolen said. “We got a long season ahead, so just doing what’s best for me. I’m faithful in the work that I put in. I’m faithful in the Lord, and I feel like everything good.”
Nolen dropped 10 pounds in the offseason by giving up junk food. He said he feels “more explosive” than last season.
The Cardinals are counting on him being more productive, too.
“I can’t say I’ve been on a good football team that didn’t have a very good defensive line, that wreaked havoc,” coach Mike LaFleur said.
The Cardinals claimed two players off waivers on Monday, according to the NFL’s personnel notice.
Running back Evan Hull and defensive tackle Cam Horsley now are Cardinals.
In corresponding moves, the Cardinals waived defensive tackle Coziah Izzard and wide receiver Tejhuan Palmer.
The Texans released Hull, who was a fifth-round pick of the Colts in 2023. He also has spent time with the Steelers and Saints.
In 2025, he appeared in six games for the Saints and rushed for 48 yards on 19 carries and caught one pass for 6 yards.
He has played eight career games.
Horsely signed with the Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2025 and appeared in one game as a rookie, playing 14 defensive snaps.
The Titans waived him Sunday.
There will be football played on Thursday night, but don’t expect to see most of Carolina’s key players.
Panthers head coach Dave Canales told reporters on Monday that backup quarterback Kenny Pickett will start the Hall of Fame Game against the Cardinals, though he’s not exactly sure how much playing time Pickett will get.
“But we have a good number of guys that will be helping out early in the game — just because we don’t want to overload any one particular group on our team,” Canales said in his press conference. “We do have practices leading into the game and we have practices coming out of it. So, I felt that with the number of guys being out there, being able to take a couple of series will really help the whole group. And, we just need the football.
“So, I’m excited about it. And Kenny’s excited about it, as well as the rest of the group, and they’ve been talking about it.”
As one would expect for the Hall of Fame Game, no starters are expected to play — including rookie offensive tackle Monroe Freeling.
“Yeah, no starters,” Canales said. “There are some competition battles for starting positions where guys will have an opportunity to play a little bit. But some of the guys we’re expecting to be out there right off the bat, I think we won’t play those guys in this game.”
At quarterback, rookie Haynes King is slated to take the reps after Pickett departs, with starter Bryce Young not in line to play.
The Panthers will face the Cardinals on Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.
Yes, receiver DeAndre Hopkins has taken a coaching job at Georgia Tech. No, he hasn’t closed the door on playing in 2026.
“I haven’t retired from the NFL,” Hopkins posted Saturday on Twitter, via Andy Backstrom of Yahoo Sports. “But if you’re a WR and you want to be great, come to Georgia Tech football.”
Hopkins, 34, is keeping himself busy as he waits for another opportunity.
“DeAndre is one of the greatest receivers of all time, but his value to our program goes far beyond that,” Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key said in the statement announcing Hopkins’s arrival. “He has an exceptional knowledge of what we’re doing on offense due to his long relationship with [offensive coordinator] George Godsey and strong familiarity with the ACC, but, most importantly, he’s a leader of men that I’m very excited for our players to be around, on and off the field.”
Hopkins, who spent time working with the Patriots’ coaching staff early in camp, would prefer not to be around, if that means continuing to play. For now, opportunity hasn’t knocked. Hopkins wants the league to know that, even as he works as a coach, he’s ready to keep playing.
A first-round pick in 2013, Hopkins spent seven seasons with the Texans and three with the Cardinals before splitting 2024 between the Titans and Chiefs. He played for the Ravens in 2025.
He has 1,006 career catches, 13,295 receiving yards, and 85 touchdowns. And he’s clearly interested in adding to those numbers during what would be a 14th NFL season.
The Cardinals made a change on their defensive line Saturday.
The team announced the signing of Brodric Martin. He will take the roster spot that opened up when the team placed defensive lineman P.J. Mustipher on injured reserve.
Martin was a 2023 third-round pick of the Lions and he appeared in five games over two seasons with the team. He also played in one game for the Steelers last season.
Martin had four tackles in those appearances.
Mustipher injured his foot in practice and will not be eligible to return to the Cardinals during the regular season. He had 32 tackles in 15 games for Arizona last season.
The Cardinals signed cornerback Quinton Newsome, the team announced Friday.
In a corresponding move, the Cardinals placed cornerback Jaden Davis on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury.
Newsome most recently played with the Houston Gamblers of the UFL this spring. He appeared in 10 games, totaling 43 tackles, two tackles for loss, half a sack, four passes defensed, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
He entered the NFL in 2024 with Denver as an undrafted rookie free agent from Nebraska and spent parts of the past two seasons on the Broncos’ practice squad.
While in college, Newsome appeared in 53 games and recorded 149 tackles, seven tackles for loss, three sacks, 18 passes defensed, an interception, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
