Cardinals Mailbag: Carson Beck Prediction, Tough Roster Decisions Looming and More

The Arizona Cardinals are halfway done with their preseason slate.

Training camp, at least at State Farm Stadium, is in the books as head coach Mike LaFleur takes his operation back to Tempe for the remaining stretch. As we approach final roster cuts, each practice and game only increases with importance.

Thanks to everybody who participated in the mailbag. If you'd like to chime in for future iterations, you can drop me a follow on X here.

And to quote the great Lil Wayne: Sorry for the wait.

With Jack Gibbens getting the start preseason game one, do you think that makes it pretty clear that he has passed Cody Simon? - WiseOwl

A: I'm not so sure, WiseOwl.

The deeper we get into the preseason, the more I'm becoming convinced the Cardinals will truly use a rotation at the other spot next to Mack Wilson depending on what the down/distance is. Simon took the majority of first-team reps since OTA's, though Gibbens' recent start in preseason keeps the door open.

Gibbens' acumen in coverage makes him an attractive nickel linebacker who can play either pass or run while Simon has the prior experience calling Nick Rallis' defense.

Much like the defensive line, the "starting" label may not carry significant weight here. The early signs are Arizona wants to deploy both.

Who do you feel is the WR3 and what do you expect the role to be based off the player you chose? - 32BeatWriters

A: Kendrick Bourne is comfortably the Cardinals' WR3, and quite honestly he's silently had an impressive camp. Bourne isn't making many headlines thanks to other stars around him, though he's seemingly always open and I can't recall a drop he's had in either training camp or preseason.

Bourne, already beloved by the locker room, fits more into that prototypical "slot" receiver role. When the Cardinals are in 11 personnel, he's typically there. Yet LaFleur's moved receivers around across the offense depending on the various goals of the play.

One thing I can say is the Cardinals have often motioned Bourne either across the formation or just inward to either crash down on blocking a front seven player or faking the block before whipping out for a route.

Bourne doesn't project to get fed consistently but he's a clear favorite of LaFleur and has been impactful when utilized.

Which WR(s) do you think get cut at the 53? - KIZ

A: KIZ, this is a pretty tough conversation the Cardinals will have to have at some point. Arizona could keep five or six receivers depending on the outlook of the roster.

Right now, it does feel like five receivers are penciled in: Marvin Harrison Jr., Michael Wilson, Kendrick Bourne, Devin Duvernay and Reggie Virgil. The top three are obvious while Duvernay is their primary return man and Virgil is a fresh draft pick who has looked fairly strong in the limited action we've seen.

If the Cardinals keep a sixth wideout, there's a plethora of guys who are performing well. Practically the entire receiving room looks strong. Right now, Jalen Brooks and Ihmir Smith-Marsette are the top two candidates battling for the WR6 spot with Simi Fehoko, Bryson Green, Xavier Weaver and Harrison Wallace all behind.

Personally, Brooks has the edge for me at this moment in time.

When do you anticipate a Tip Reiman return- could work well with this RB room!! - Lon Tay

Lon Tay, Reiman's going to be a massive piece to their run-blocking puzzle.

When exactly he returns remains to be determined. For what it's worth he was spotted getting some side work during the open portion of practice earlier in camp but he hasn't been activated from the PUP list.

Mike LaFleur insists the PUP guys are making progress, though it's unclear exactly when the Cardinals could see their tight end back into the mix. To me, this feels like a coin flip in terms of his availability for Week 1.

We'll need to see something soon, like this week, to make us believe he can contribute and be physically ready for the season opener.

3 biggest differences of Mike LaFleur's training camp and Jonathan Gannon's camp that you can recall? - Bryan

Bryan this is actually an article I plan on doing soon, but I'll give you guys a spoiler:

1. Practice times are later in the day, like much later. Gannon preferred to have practice earlier in the day while LaFleur very much adopted a later start-time approach from the likes of Sean McVay/Kyle Shanahan. I'm sure there's some sports science behind it.

2. Much more 11 v 11 during practices compared to Gannon, who preferred to mix in some individual and 7 v 7. However, LaFleur's big thing is "7 v 7 is not real football" so the Cardinals have a heavy dose of team offense vs defense now.

3. The instant replay boards that show the play immediately after it happens. Gannon didn't have that at either State Farm Stadium or Tempe, whereas LaFleur has both. The Cardinals loved it and referred to the replay system as a good way to provide immediate feedback as opposed to waiting for film study.

What’s been interestingly good about Cardinals training camp? And what’s left you shaking your head? - Ed

Ed, the good part for me has been the Cardinals' offense and how often receivers are getting open. Every level (starters to third string) has found success offensively. I think that's a strong indictment on LaFleur's system and ability to scheme guys open.

Shaking my head? To be quite honest there wasn't a lot that left me shaking my head. The Josh Sweat saga has been the closest thing, though I understand the Cardinals are probably just protecting their top investment and his knee ahead of the regular season.

Carson Beck start prediction? - Charles

Charles, the recent rib injury doesn't quite impact his chances of starting in 2026, mostly because Jacoby Brissett has those duties locked — at least for the beginning stage of the season.

It does feel likely we see Beck at some point in time, barring a surprisingly competitive Cardinals campaign. The big question here is when Arizona feels the need to see Beck, as the Cardinals are well aware of the grueling schedule ahead.

I personally don't think we see Beck until halfway through the season at the earliest. Obviously, I could be wrong (just ask any of my ex's) but after handing Brissett $15 million guaranteed, they're going to want to squeeze as much juice out of him as possible.

Unofficial prediction? I'll go Week 12 vs. Washington. That would give him two games before their bye week to regroup and assess Beck before the final four games of the season. The Cardinals just might be out of playoff contention by then, too.

Who was the biggest riser/attention getter to watch for the rest of the preseason outside of Beck? - Frankie

Frankie, we sort of touched on this a bit earlier, but Jalen Brooks' rise from the bottom of the depth chart to a very real possibility of making the roster has been notable. He's somebody I'm watching with intrigue because it's not a clear-cut winning battle due to either numbers or competition.

Jayden Williams' ascension through camp has been super fun to watch. It's not often a seventh-round pick climbs his way to potential swing-tackle duties over the course of a summer, but the Ole Miss product has legitimately been that impressive. He's still developing, but the Cardinals seem to really like him.

Eku Leota and Bam Knight are other guys who might've been on the outside looking in entering camp with strong chances of making the team.

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