Coming off a sterling preseason debut against the Carolina Panthers in last week's Hall of Fame Game, the Arizona Cardinals were undoubtedly hoping that rookie quarterback Carson Beck could build on his momentum right away. Instead, they will have to shelve those plans for now. And, hopefully, at least just on a temporary basis. On Thursday, Ian Rapoport revealed that Beck suffered a rib injury in that very same preseason debut. While the injury isn't believed to be serious, it is enough for the Cardinals to approach the early development of their hopeful future franchise quarterback with appropriate caution. As such, they are holding him out of their second preseason matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday night. There's no need for Beck to push it right now:
#AZCardinals QB Carson Beck won’t play in tonight’s preseason game against the #Raiders due to a rib injury sustained in last Thursday’s Hall of Fame game. The injury is not considered serious. Beck practiced through soreness all week but the team decided to keep him out… pic.twitter.com/UukQWuux2V — Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 13, 2026 Provided Beck recovers well from this rib injury, there could be real momentum for him to become the Cardinals' actual starting quarterback in short order. For now, though, he is still third on Arizona's depth chart behind Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew II. The good news for Beck is that both veterans could be considered stopgaps, not serious long-term solutions, which leaves the door plenty open for him to win the job with more visible competence. After all, it's a long preseason. Anything can happen between now and Week 1. Who might get more time for the Cardinals in light of Beck's absence against the Raiders? Expect to potentially see third-year signal-caller Kedon Slovis get a bit more time in Arizona's offense now that Beck won't play on Thursday night. Slovis was an undrafted free agent after the 2024 NFL Draft. The Cardinals are his third NFL stop. This article originally appeared on For The Win: Why isn't Carson Beck playing against the Raiders on Thursday night?