Revenge of the Birds

Tight end with lingering issues creating depth needs in the Cardinals' tight end room. The loss of Kenny Yeboah to IR combined with Reiman's ongoing problems has forced the team to sign additional depth at the position.

Undrafted tight end signed to fill depth after Yeboah's IR placement. Bowman (6'-5", 265 pounds) is a Rutgers product named Third Team All-CAA and 2024 Hampshire Honor Society. He went undrafted in 2024, signed with Jacksonville, was waived on final cutdown and placed on their practice squad. This past spring with the Orlando Storm of the UFL, he recorded seven catches for 53 yards. Now tasked with providing depth in a tight end room that has lost Yeboah and faces lingering issues with Tip Reiman.

Five-year veteran tight end placed on IR after training camp injury. Yeboah was signed during free agency to serve as TE3 and provide blocking support as an extension of the offensive line. After four seasons with the New York Jets, he became injured in training camp with the Detroit Lions last year and missed all of 2025. Now faces another back-to-back training camp injury, ending his season before it began.

Carson Beck is listed as the third quarterback on the projected 53-man roster; the source notes that the quarterback position could be one to watch if the rookie continues to play well.

Jalen Brooks has looked really good in camp and is competing for a sixth wide receiver roster spot against Ihmir Smith-Marsette and Simi Fehoko; Smith-Marsette's injury Thursday could open the door for Brooks to secure the spot despite lacking the experience of the other two.

Smith-Marsette is competing for a sixth wide receiver spot with Simi Fehoko and Jalen Brooks; Brooks has looked really good in camp but lacks the experience of Smith-Marsette and Fehoko. Smith-Marsette missed Thursday with an injury, which could open the door for Brooks to take the spot.

Trey Benson has been MIA and injured almost all of camp; the source does not see him making the 53-man roster right now.

Bridgewater appears to be retiring once again, removing him from the available quarterback pool and impacting any team seeking his services.

Henry agreed to a new two-year contract extension with the Patriots, securing his role with the team and providing roster stability.

Jones has shown positive recovery progress following his Achilles injury, suggesting he is on track for return to action.

Beck impressed during his preseason debut with the Cardinals, raising questions about his standing and potential role with the team moving forward.

Fitzgerald was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, cementing his legacy as one of the most prolific pass-catchers in NFL history. He played his entire career for the Cardinals, a rarity in modern football, and left the game as one of the league's all-time greats at the wide receiver position.

Tight end Kenny Yeboah placed on injured reserve as corresponding move to make room for Cardinals' signings of Shawn Bowman and Eugene Asante.

Cardinals signed tight end Shawn Bowman (6-4, 249) to 2026 training camp roster. Most recently played with Orlando Storm of the UFL, appearing in 11 games with 7 receptions for 53 yards. Entered NFL in 2024 as undrafted rookie free agent from Rutgers with Jacksonville, spent season on Jaguars practice squad. College production at Rutgers (2023) and Maine (2019-22): 44 games, 90 receptions, 984 yards (10.9 avg), 11 TDs.

Virgil is a rookie receiver on the Cardinals' roster alongside Kendrick Bourne and Jalen Brooks, representing a new offensive weapon Brissett must integrate with in the newly installed LaFleur offense.

Brooks is one of several new receivers on the Cardinals' roster alongside Kendrick Bourne and rookie Reggie Virgil, representing new offensive weapons Brissett must integrate with in the newly installed LaFleur offense.

Bourne is one of several new receivers on the Cardinals' roster alongside Jalen Brooks and rookie Reggie Virgil, representing new offensive weapons Brissett must integrate with in the newly installed LaFleur offense.

Love is one of the Cardinals' two starting running backs alongside Tyler Allgeier, representing a new offensive weapon for Brissett to integrate with in the newly installed LaFleur offense.

Allgeier is one of the Cardinals' two starting running backs alongside Jeremiyah Love, representing a new offensive weapon for Brissett to integrate with in the newly installed LaFleur offense.

Beck displayed a grasp of the new LaFleur offense in the Hall of Fame Game, showing he understood the system even if not everything is down pat. The source notes he 'certainly displayed that he was fully grasping what LaFleur is teaching and wanting from his quarterback,' positioning him as a credible threat to Brissett's starting role.

Third-round rookie Carson Beck attended every OTA and minicamp class session and has been at the practice facility early to late since being drafted in April. He showed flashes of capability to run the team in Week 1 and impressed in the Hall of Fame Game against Carolina's second-team defense, demonstrating he is grasping LaFleur's new offensive system and what the coach is teaching.

Minshew attended every OTA and minicamp class session and practice with the Cardinals, giving him a significant head start on learning the new LaFleur offense compared to Brissett. He showed flashes of capability to run the team in Week 1 and is described as perfectly capable of running an offense, though Carson Beck is receiving more attention.

Brissett expressed confidence in his ability to master the new offense, citing his experience across six different offenses with five NFL teams. He stated he has been through many different phases of football and is willing to put in the work, noting that once contract negotiations are handled, 'the football is the football' and he will take care of it.

Brissett is learning a brand-new offense installed by new head coach Mike LaFleur, similar to the Rams, 49ers, and Packers systems. He initially started at the back of the line (QB4) in practice reps before earning first-team reps. He acknowledged missing all OTA and minicamp class meetings and practice sessions while negotiating his contract, putting him behind Gardner Minshew and Carson Beck, who attended every session and showed flashes of capability.

Brissett secured a two-year, $15.5 million deal with incentives to $21 million after being named the Cardinals' starting QB for 2026, following Kyler Murray's injury and subsequent release. Despite being considered a career backup with 53 starts in nine years, he earned starting QB money (less than half the price of most league starters) and is now listed on the Cardinals' first official depth chart as the starter.

WR established strong connection with rookie QB Carson Beck in preseason, finishing with 3 receptions for 99 yards including a 49-yard deep shot. The source identifies Brooks as the Cardinals' X-Factor in that stretch, with the connection between Beck and Brooks being apparent and noteworthy enough to highlight as a key takeaway from the preseason performance.

Rookie QB impressed in preseason debut with 125.4 passer rating, demonstrating pinpoint accuracy, poise under pressure, excellent touch on deep balls, and ability to stay on target from multiple arm angles. Multiple sources noted Beck passed the eye test as a calm, collected field general who commanded play-action and threaded passes into tight windows. The source notes Beck's performance was strong enough to suggest he'll get more extended opportunities and even made a case to potentially start Week 1 over Jacoby Brissett, though he is not currently Arizona's starter.

Seth Cox (Revenge of the Birds) framed Beck's preseason performance as shifting the narrative from the Cardinals' training camp lowlights to a strong debut. Cox noted that questions about Beck will continue to mount, but not whether he is good—rather, when the Cardinals should start him. The source states that Beck's performance "had the interwebs hyped" and that he "shut it up for at least one night" after the team had been criticized for a training camp slideshow of lowlights.

According to Jaydn Wilgus (Arizona Daily Sun), Beck is not focused on the starting role but is concentrating on learning the offense and adjusting to a new system. He has spent long days at the team facility learning the new offense, building chemistry with teammates, and picking the brains of coaches. His approach remains focused on daily improvement rather than outcomes, and leadership has developed through experience as much as preparation.

Multiple media outlets praised Beck's preseason debut. Tyler Drake (Arizona Sports) noted Beck looked "calm, cool, collected and confident," executed everything asked of him, placed the ball where only receivers could catch it, showed ability to go through reads, hang in the pocket, and deliver. Stephen A. Smith (ESPN First Take) highlighted intermediate and deep throws with impressive trajectory, especially on the corner TD, praised his accuracy and poise, and noted he "dipped and dunked when necessary" and took what the defense gave him. Ian Casselberry (Yahoo! Sports) emphasized Beck showed touch on his 5-yard TD to Simi Fehoko. Kevin Patra (NFL.com) called Beck "the best player on the field," noted he was poised behind a backup O-line, showed excellent touch downfield, was pinpoint accurate, displayed ability to stay on target from multiple arm angles, didn't panic under pressure, and was a field general. Josh Weinfuss (ESPN Arizona) said Beck was clean, efficient, took what the defense gave him, was poised in the pocket, commanded play-action, and showed off his touch. Nate Davis (USA Today) framed Beck as potentially overtaking Jacoby Brissett already.

In the Hall of Fame Game preseason debut, Beck completed 15 of 19 attempts (78.9%) for 188 yards, 1 TD, 0 INTs, 0 turnovers, with a QB rating of 125.4. He played the entire first half plus the first drive of the second half. Third-down efficiency was 58.3%; fourth-down record was 0-1. He had 6 drives with results: punt, TD, TD, FG, downs (kneel-down to end half), downs (incompletion on fourth-down). Longest play was a 49-yard completion to Jalen Brooks in Q2. He showed 2 rushes for 3 yards and 1 sack taken. The source notes he was surrounded by second-team players and faced Carolina's second-team defense, which had more talent than most college defenses Beck faced, providing meaningful context for the performance.

Beck has the physical tools NFL coaches value: 6'5", 235 pounds. He won a high school state championship, two National Championships at Georgia, and nearly won another at Miami. His pedigree includes being voted Florida Mr. Football as a high school senior and USA Today Offensive Player of the Year. The source emphasizes that winning and being a champion is nothing new for Beck, establishing a track record of success at elite levels.

Beck was selected 65th overall in Round 3 by Arizona, making him only the third QB taken in the draft after Fernando Mendoza (1st overall) and Ty Simpson (13th overall). The source contextualizes this pick by noting that great QBs like Joe Montana, Russell Wilson, Bart Starr, Brian Sipe, Mark Brunell, Mark Rypien, Joe Theismann, Johnny Unitas, Roger Staubach, and Tom Brady were all taken in rounds 3–17, while first-round QB busts include Johnny Manziel, Ryan Leaf, Marcus Mariota, Justin Fields, Zach Wilson, Jim Drunkenmiller, Josh Rosen, and Dan Marino (taken after five other QBs). This historical context supports Beck's third-round selection as a legitimate path to QB success.

Jahmyr Gibbs and the Lions agreed to a massive contract extension, signaling the team's long-term commitment to him as a core offensive asset and reinforcing his lead-back role and workload security.

Simi Fehoko caught a touchdown pass from Carson Beck in the Hall of Fame Game preseason debut, demonstrating early involvement in the Cardinals' passing game and red-zone opportunities.

In his NFL preseason debut at the Hall of Fame Game, Carson Beck completed 15 of 19 passes (83% completion rate) for 188 yards and 1 touchdown pass, leading the Cardinals to 30 points despite the preseason game being notably crisp-deficient early in the exhibition schedule. The source notes this performance is 'all the more impressive' given the underwhelming quality of play typical in the first preseason game, suggesting Beck's efficiency and execution stand out relative to the expected baseline.

Despite being a third-string quarterback, Slovis demonstrated accuracy and placement in the Hall of Fame Game. He completed 9-of-10 passes for 106 yards, 1 TD, and 0 INTs, including a one-yard TD pass in a tight window, a 16-yarder, a 17-yard strike to Virgil, and a 27-yard gain to Wallace. The source notes he 'still had to place the ball in a spot' and executed effectively.

In a crowded Cardinals running back room, Knight demonstrated he will be difficult to cut in roster decisions. He showed strong tackle-shedding ability and yards-after-catch production, including an 11-yard run early and a hard-fought 15-yarder. Finished with 12 carries for 60 yards in the Hall of Fame Game, signaling roster security.

The source noted that in the third quarter, Xavier Weaver muffed the kickoff in the end zone and had to fall on it. This was part of a broader criticism of the Cardinals' return game performance.

The source criticized punt returner Harrison Wallace for poor decision-making on a punt return. Instead of moving towards the punt in flight, Wallace sorta waited around and instead of fielding the kick, let it bounce around until it was downed at the three-yard line. He finished with one punt return for a 7.0 average. The source also noted that Slovis threw a 27-yard gain to Wallace early in the final quarter.