Cardinals Place Gardner Minshew on Injured Reserve With Elbow Injury, Rookie Carson Beck to Start Against the Rams

The Arizona Cardinals quarterback room has been rebuilt again inside 10 days, and this time a rookie is the one in charge. Arizona placed Gardner Minshew II on injured reserve Tuesday after the elbow injury he suffered in Seattle, a move the team's own site (opens in a new tab) says ends his season. Third-round pick Carson Beck will make his first NFL start Sunday when the Los Angeles Rams visit State Farm Stadium.

The Cardinals also put receiver Michael Wilson on IR with a neck injury and added two quarterbacks to back up Beck: 40-year-old veteran Josh Johnson and rookie Joey Aguilar.

One Hit Before Halftime

The injury came on the final snap of the first half of Sunday's 17-3 loss to the Seahawks. Dante Fowler Jr. got home as Minshew was throwing, hit his right arm and knocked the ball loose. Minshew grabbed the arm right away, then went back out and played the entire second half anyway. He finished 21 of 30 for 166 yards with no touchdowns and was sacked three times.

On Monday, ESPN's Adam Schefter and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported that Minshew was feared to have torn the ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow. Per Schefter, Minshew was seeking more medical opinions to confirm that he likely needs season-ending surgery. Neither the team nor Minshew had announced a surgery as of Wednesday. Mike LaFleur told reporters Monday that Minshew was having tests on the arm and elbow, and said of Sunday's game: "We will know more on Wednesday, but yeah, there is a possibility for sure." The IR move a day later answered the question.

It is a brutal end to a short run. Minshew came off the bench in Week 8 and rallied Arizona to a 33-30 overtime win in Dallas, which earned him the job and led the Cardinals to trade Jacoby Brissett to Baltimore. Across two appearances, Minshew completed 38 of 53 passes for 354 yards and three touchdowns. Seattle was his first start for the Cardinals, and it will be his last of the season. He is set to be a free agent after the year.

Who Carson Beck Is

Beck, 24, arrives at this moment with a long college resume and almost no NFL tape. He spent five seasons at Georgia before a final year at Miami, where he led the Hurricanes to the national championship game, a loss to Indiana. NFL.com tallied his college totals at 11,725 passing yards, 88 touchdowns and 32 interceptions.

His only game action as a pro came in the Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 6 against Carolina. Beck went 15 of 19 for 188 yards in the first half, leading two touchdown drives and throwing a scoring pass to Simi Fehoko. Since then he has been a spectator. He has not taken a regular season snap, and he left practice with back spasms in late October. LaFleur said Monday that Beck is doing "good" now.

Beck said he has tried to get ready for this exact scenario while waiting his turn. "You can try to create that plan and create the preparation for what it looks like when you finally are the guy," Beck said, per the team's site.

Same Offense, New Trigger Man

LaFleur does not plan a rewrite. "Foundationally, we're going to do a lot of the similar stuff," he told reporters Monday, adding that what Beck likes and does well lines up with what Minshew liked. He made the same point in starker terms: "It's not like it's a difference between the Wing-T and a spread offense."

The supporting cast is thinner, though. Wilson, who had 51 catches for 546 yards and two touchdowns in eight games, is done for the year, and he is the third Cardinals receiver lost for the season. Arizona had already traded Marvin Harrison Jr. earlier in the year. Starting center Hjalte Froholdt was in the concussion protocol as of Monday, so Beck could also be taking snaps from a backup.

Behind Beck, Johnson joins from the Bengals' practice squad. Per Fox Sports, Arizona is his 15th NFL team. Aguilar comes over from Jacksonville's practice squad, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

A Tough Draw for a Debut

The opponent does Beck no favors. The Rams are 5-4 and have won three straight, most recently a 20-13 win at Washington (opens in a new tab) in which Myles Garrett had three sacks in his first game back from knee surgery. The Rams did lose Puka Nacua to knee and toe injuries in that game, and the team's site says he is likely headed to injured reserve.

Arizona did win the first meeting, 18-16 at SoFi Stadium on Oct. 18, when Chad Ryland kicked his sixth field goal as time expired. Brissett was the quarterback that day.

What It Means for Arizona

At 3-6, the Cardinals sit last in the NFC West, the only team in the division under .500. They also carry a 10-game home losing streak into Sunday, per the AP. With the season slipping, a look at Beck may be the most useful thing left on the schedule. If the rookie can move the ball against Garrett and the Rams front, Arizona will learn something real about its future. Beck is not the only rookie getting the keys this weekend, either: the Raiders named No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza their starter for Sunday against Seattle.

Sources: Arizona Cardinals (azcardinals.com), NFL.com, Associated Press, Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, Los Angeles Rams (therams.com).

Photo: Caitlyn Epes Kerl/Arizona Cardinals.