Cardinals Not Rushing Carson Beck Into Starting QB Job... Yet

"It's like you're choreographing a dance."

Footwork and timing during spring practices for NFL quarterbacks, at least according to Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, are much like a dance.

For a rookie quarterback such as Carson Beck, it's the first of many recitals.

Many believe Beck, Arizona's third-round pick this April, could be in line to see playing time this season — even with veterans such as Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew ahead of him on the depth chart.

Gone are the days where rookie quarterbacks were expected to sit behind vets and learn before being tossed into the fire — the NFL now has shifted into a league where if you don't play immediately, and well, patience is razor thin.

"What happened with that? That seemed like it worked pretty well for a while, and now all of a sudden, let's throw them in there?" Hackett asked with a grin.

That very same outside pressure is being applied to the Cardinals and Beck.

"We have to coach them all like they're starters. When that time comes, whenever that is, it'll be there. I think right now we just have to keep pushing him and keep pushing him. You want young guys to stay out as long as they possibly can, just to learn," said Hackett.

"Just even the process through a week, the process through a season. It's a marathon through training camp, preseason games, the 17-game season, the speed of the game, I mentioned that before, it's like nothing else. There are so many things that go through a quarterback's mind, from just what hash? Why the call? What are the statistics? Am I throwing right? Am I throwing left? Where's one? What do I do with the protection? I mean, I can go on and on with everything that they have to think about, and college sometimes is a little different.

"I mean, we're going under center now, so he had been under center for a while, now he's going back under center. So 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 them out there."

However, there may very well come a point where the Cardinals are tempted to see what Beck has in store, especially ahead of a big 2027 quarterback class.

"He is a rookie, and rookies, they're difficult at times. I mean, they come from a different system, a different world, a different speed," Hackett continued on Beck.

"So with Carson we get extra time with him because he's a rookie, 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 I mean 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."

It sure doesn't sound like the Cardinals are wanting to push Beck into starting duties immediately.

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