Carson Beck gave the Cardinals what they wanted to see in the Hall of Fame Game.
The rookie quarterback got the start in 2026’s first preseason game and led three scoring drives in the first half. The first of them was a 13-play, 96-yard trip down the field for a Corey Kiner rushing touchdown and it was followed by a four-play, 60-yard drive that ended with a five-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Simi Fehoko.
Beck’s night also included a pair of long hookups with wide receiver Jalen Brooks and he ended his night 15-of-19 for 188 yards. After the game, Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur said the performance was right in line with how the third-round pick has played since joining the team.
“It’s a broken record, but it’s the same thing I keep seeing in practice,” LaFleur said, via the team’s website. “He doesn’t make it too big. He just makes it about the play.”
Jacoby Brissett is the No. 1 quarterback for the Cardinals at the moment and Beck probably won’t do enough this summer to change those plans. His first outing did nothing to hurt his bid to be the quarterback of the future, however, and more strong work in the preseason will only solidify that status.
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Haynes King wasn’t drafted despite being the ACC Player of the Year last season. The Panthers signed the former Georgia Tech star quarterback as a free agent, and he showed Thursday night maybe someone should have drafted him.
Third on the team’s depth chart, King replaced veteran Kenny Pickett with 9:38 remaining in the first half and the Panthers trailing 14-7.
King completed 21 of 34 passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns, a 15-yarder and a 5-yarder.
He also ran for 39 yards on three carries, including scoring on a 5-yard jaunt on the final play of the game. It gave the Panthers a 33-30 victory.
In one of the most entertaining Hall of Fame Games ever, the Cardinals gained 425 yards and the Panthers 378. Rookie Carson Beck started for Arizona and went 15-of-19 for 188 yards and a touchdown before turning it over to fourth-string quarterback Kedon Slovis, who was 9-of-10 for 106 yards and a touchdown.
Carson Beck has played in much bigger games than the Hall of Fame Game, so it probably should come as no surprise that the lights weren’t too bright or the stage too big.
Beck started for the Cardinals in the first preseason game of the NFL season.
He showed up and showed out.
Beck played a little more than a half, completing 15 of 19 passes for 188 yards and a touchdown. He hit Reggie Virgil for what would have been a big gain on his final throw of the night in the third quarter, but Isaiah Simmons knocked it out.
He directed scoring drives of 96, 50 and 61 yards, throwing a 5-yard fade to a well-covered Simi Fehoko for a touchdown on the team’s second scoring drive.
The Cardinals were tied with the Panthers 17-17 when Beck left with 10:15 remaining in the third quarter.
Fourth-stringer Kedon Slovis replaced Beck.
The Colts signed free agent tight end Pharaoh Brown on Thursday, the team announced.
In a corresponding move, the Colts placed tight end Sean McKeon on injured reserve. McKeon, who has an undisclosed injury, will finish the season on injured reserve unless he reaches an injury settlement with the Colts.
Brown returns to Indianapolis after spending time with the team in 2023.
He played for the Cardinals in 2025, appearing in seven games with two starts. Brown caught two passes for 1 yard, while seeing action on 59 offensive snaps and 77 on special teams.
Brown has also spent time with the Dolphins (2025), Seahawks (2024), Patriots (2023), Colts (2023), Browns (2018-20, 2022), Texans (2020-22) and Raiders (2017-18). He has appeared in 94 career games with 56 starts, totaling 74 receptions for 752 yards and three touchdowns.
The Cardinals didn’t draft running back Jeremiyah Love with the third overall pick so he could sit on the bench, but they’re not going to declare him the starter just yet.
Currently, the Cardinals’ depth chart lists Tyler Allgeier as the first-string running back. Love is second string.
Realistically, there’s almost no chance that Love, barring injury, isn’t the Cardinals’ top running back for the regular season. But NFL teams often wait until a rookie has earned a starting job before listing him as the starter on the team’s published depth chart.
No. 3 on the running back depth chart in Arizona is James Conner, followed by Trey Benson, Bam Knight and Corey Kiner.
Cardinals edge rusher Josh Sweat remains on the active/physically unable to perform list as he deals with a knee issue.
But even as Arizona progresses further into training camp, head coach Mike LaFleur is not concerned about Sweat being on the field when games count.
“Whether you believe me or not, I’m not worried about him for Sept. 13, at all,” LaFleur said Wednesday, via Darren Urban of the team’s website.
Sept. 13, of course, is when the Cardinals will open the regular season against the Chargers.
LaFleur has used a similar line before when discussing Sweat’s health and potential unhappiness with his contract. Sweat was the subject of trade rumors over the offseason.
Last year — Sweat’s first with the Cardinals — Sweat recorded a career-high 12.0 sacks with 13 tackles for loss and 17 QB hits.
We’ll have to wait a little longer for our first chance to see Cardinals running back Jeremiyah Love in action.
Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur said at a Wednesday press conference that Love will not be playing against the Panthers in the Hall of Fame Game on Thursday night. The Cardinals will have three other preseason games to get Love some action ahead of their Week 1 game against the Chargers.
Love was the third overall pick in April and is expected to be the lead back in Arizona during his rookie season.
Tyler Allgeier, James Conner, Trey Benson, Bam Knight, Evan Hill, and Corey Kiner are the other backs on the Cardinals roster.
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.”
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.
