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TEMPE — The Arizona Cardinals finally delivered the news fans have been waiting for.
Head coach Mike LaFleur confirmed on Wednesday that rookie third-round pick Carson Beck would start ahead of the team's Week 10 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams.
Beck gets the nod after the Cardinals lost previous starter Gardner Minshew to a season-ending UCL injury on Sunday.
"Go out and operate. Go operate this offense and go play," LaFleur said on what he wants to see out of Beck on Sunday. "Each play is his own. So do what he's been doing in practice. It's just an extension of the practice field. Obviously, it's live bullets, and go operate, go play his game."
The Cardinals are 3-6 on the season, and after the trade deadline has come and gone, they're officially turning the page towards the future with Beck — who will have the second half of Arizona's season as an evaluation for the front office ahead of a 2027 offseason where the Cardinals very well could pursue a quarterback.
Beck's extensive college experience at Georgia and Miami on top of successfully leading both programs to a national championship appearance made him an attractive late day two pick.
The plan wasn't initially for Beck to play this early in the season — especially against a loaded Rams defense with Aaron Donald and Myles Garrett — though LaFleur believes his passer is ready.
"You never really know until you get to the live bullets on Sunday," LaFleur continued on Beck.
"But just the way he goes about his business, whether it's been from OTAs through training camp before he got hurt, obviously seeing him operate there in that first half [preseason] plus the one you know possession there in the second half. So obviously we'll know more come that Sunday, but have all the confidence that he's ready to roll."