TEMPE — A lot has been made about Arizona Cardinals rookie quarterback Carson Beck’s torn UCL and his way back from the injury.
Some may question whether he can make all the throws a successful NFL quarterback must make. Others wonder if there are still lingering effects from the injury.
Beck, however, has no concerns. Getting a full offseason of normalcy (from an injury standpoint) has only helped with that.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I don’t think it held me back at all,” Beck told Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo on Thursday. “Being a year and a half out now, my arm is stronger than it’s ever been. I think a lot of that is also a credit to being able to sit here and train for the past three, four months and not come off a grueling season at Georgia where I injure my elbow and have to go into rehab immediately and can’t really work out and I’m just trying to get back to where I’m actually on the field and play.
“Being able to train the past three months and get stronger, get faster, focus on mechanics and not be in this cluster and hurry to try and get back out on the field and do whatever.”
Beck went down with the torn UCL in the 2024 SEC Championship game with Georgia. He would go on to transfer to Miami this past season as he continued to rehab the injury.
Fighting through plenty of adversity that came with the injury and transferring to a new school, Beck helped lead the Hurricanes to the national championship game before falling to Indiana.
Despite the impressive run, Miami head coach Mario Cristobal told ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg that Beck is “probably reaching full health now” in a story published earlier this week. The head coach added he believes Beck’s best football is ahead of him.
The Cardinals are certainly hoping that’s the case as they search for a long-term answer at quarterback.
Tyler Drake
Born and raised in Kelseyville, California, I spent most of my summers growing up in Arizona. There were a lot of trips to Globe and the East Valley. Once out of high school, I attended the University of Arizona with a major in natural resources before eventually transferring to Arizona State and focusing on sports journalism. After an internship with Arizona Sports and graduating the following semester in 2017, I joined back on with Bonneville as a part-time web editor for both Arizona Sports and KTAR News before taking on the Cardinals beat and full-time role in 2021. I also started the Cardinals Corner podcast. At home, I am married with two kids, Brady and Baker. If I'm not chasing around the kids or at a game/practice, I'm most likely on the golf course. In addition to my time at Arizona Sports, I have also interned/worked for Pinal Central, the East Valley Tribune, Lindy's Sports and Athlon Sports.