The Arizona Cardinals selected Carson Beck out of the University of Miami in the third round. He has since attended every OTA and minicamp the team has offered.
And now, he has his mind set on either being the starter this year, or at the minimum, becoming somebody’s backup.
RELATED: GET TO KNOW QB CARSON BECK
Beck came to the Cardinals after losing the National Championship Game in college football in his familiar #11 jersey.
Players view jersey numbers in two different categories: a) it’s lucky, so
I must have my number, and b) I am on a pro team getting paid bank, so I am extremely happy to be wearing any number.
Now with the Cardinals, Beck is seen with the number 19. Why?
For one, why isn’t he wearing his college number? Another good question is, who in the heck wears #19? Except for #9, #89, and #99, hardly any team has a player who has a “9” behind it. They just don’t. Yes, there is an occasional #59 or #79, but that is not the norm. And there isn’t any superstitious reason for not accepting a number with a “9” behind it; it’s just one of those unknown things in life, like the fact that the last piece of bacon in the pack is all twisted and goofy.
It’s not all superstitious like in baseball, where nobody steps on a line. In football, the nines just don’t get picked over.
But here is Beck, fresh out of college football with a 1-9 on his jersey. Somebody tell him to take another number. Geez.
Perhaps Beck doesn’t really have a regular number. A lot of guys bitch and scream about not getting their number.
Look at the Cleveland Browns. They traded their elite pass rusher, Myles Garrett, to the Los Angeles Rams and received three draft picks and the exceptional pass rusher Jared Verse in return. He has worn #8 ever since the Pee Wee league. He arrived in Cleveland, and backup QB Dillon Gabriel, who started six games as a rookie last year and is in the mix for the starting role this year, has the number 8. Guess who is now switching to new digits? It ain’t the guy who nails opposing quarterbacks.
Beck wore #11 at Miami, and everyone associated him with this number. His Miami team had national acclaim and came close to winning the national crown.
Right now, Arizona has 90 players under contract as training camp looms. And teams retire numbers of their best players all the time. The franchise is 127 years old and is the second-oldest continuous pro football team in North America behind the Toronto Argonauts. Surely, they must have an album full of retired numbers that are no longer available to wear.
The reality is, the Cardinals only have five retired jersey numbers: #8 (Larry Wilson), #40 (Pat Tillman), #77 (Stan Mauldin), #88 (J.V. Cain), and #99 (Marshall Goldberg).
The NFL has strict guidelines with standardized jersey numbers. It used to be: 1-19 – quarterbacks, specialists, and receivers; 20-49 – running backs and defensive backs; 50-79 – offensive linemen; 60-79/90-99 – defensive linemen; 50-59/90-99 – linebackers; receivers – 10-19/80-89; and tight ends – 40-49/80-89.
But as the years rolled along and more and more franchises retired jersey numbers, suddenly, the league was running out of options to assign players and remain in conformity. The main roster is 53 players plus up to 17 on the practice squad, and then all of the players listed on some sort of injury list. The NFL looked at why three QBs, one punter, and one kicker had the option of 19 numbers, so they adjusted this.
The changes? No change with quarterbacks and offensive linemen. Long snappers can wear any number. Defensive linemen and linebackers can wear any number except 80-89. Kickers and punters can wear 0-49 plus 90-99, RB, WR, and TE can use 0-49, plus 80-89, and defensive backs are able to utilize 0-49 only.
Suddenly, teams had options for athletes and didn’t have to resort to the practice of college football, where they would have an offensive #8 player and a defensive #8. On college game days, they are able to dress 105 if they choose.
Back to Beck. This means the overall roster cap for NFL quarterbacks is set at 19 jersey numbers.
Beck wore #18 in football at Mandarin High School in Jacksonville, Florida, where he was a baseball star and wore #13. He committed to play that sport at the University of Florida. Then, he guided Mandarin to a state football championship, was named USA Today “Offensive Player of the Year,” and was voted “Florida Mr. Football.”
So, #18 is lucky, right?
This convinced him to flip sports. Georgia was his childhood college team, even though he had plenty of college offers. He was fitted into jersey #15 because their starting QB, Stetson Bennett, wore the number 11. For the next two years, Beck barely saw the field. Then, he was named the starter in 2023, and Stetson was now in the NFL. He was told that in Georgia, they don’t switch numbers. That season, Georgia went 13-1-0 and won the SEC Championship Game.
So, #15 is blessed, right?
His girlfriend, influencer Hanna Cavinder, was a student at the University of Miami. Beck decided to join her, went into the portal, and signed to play with Miami who handed him jersey #11. He secured a $3 million NIL deal. In his one year at Miami, the team earned the #10 seed in the College Football Playoff. They defeated Texas A&M, Ohio State, and then Ole Miss before meeting Indiana in the title game, a 27-21 loss.
So, #11 is hallowed, right?
After the draft, Beck arrived in Tempe and went to be assigned a jersey.
- #1: LB Mack Wilson, Jr.
- #2: CB Will Johnson
- #3: S Budda Baker
- #4: RB Jeremiyah Love
- #5: LB Baron Browning
- #6: RB James Conner
- #7: QB Jacoby Brissett
- #8: (retired)
- #9: WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette
- #10: EDGE Josh Sweat
- #11: (stopped assigning this #: Larry Fitzgerald)
- #12: P Blake Billikin/QB Kedon Slovis
- #13: CB Kei’Trel Clark
- #14: WR Michael Wilson
- #15: QB Gardner Minshew II
- #16: CB Max Melton
- #17: WR Kendrick Bourne
- #18: WR Marv Harrison, Jr.
- #19: (open)
Ahhhhhh. There was only one option. That’s why Beck is wearing it. As anyone can see, Beck has had a lot of jersey numbers.
Remember that 1996 movie “The Fan” where Wesley Snipes played that elite baseball player who was traded to a new team? Snipes’ character Bobby Rayburn had always worn #11, and now was on a new team whose first baseman wore that number and wouldn’t give it up. So, Rayburn was assigned another jersey number and played poorly. A fan ends up killing the first baseman so that Rayburn could be given #11.
Nowhere near the case with Beck. He has taken a jersey number and gone about the business of football. He has always been on winning teams.
And yes, #19 is an odd number.
Having said this, it was Johnny Unitas’ number, who is considered one of the greatest QBs of all time. Joe Montana took on that number when he left the San Francisco 49ers and was now playing for the Kansas City Chiefs. Another #19, who is considered one of the best. Browns QB Bernie Kosar also wore #19. So did WRs Lance Alworth and Keyshawn Johnson.
In all, six NFL Hall of Famers have worn #19.
And across all sports, there have been many famous guys who donned the number, such as Bob Feller, Willis Reed, Steve Yzerman, Tony Gwynn, and Lenny Wilkens.
As training camp dwindles, players will be released, and some new guys will arrive. Numbers will become available, and some players will want to make a switch and open up the opportunity to claim a new jersey. Beck is used to being called 1-5 back to his Georgia days and still looks over every time when somebody at Cardinals practice is yelling at Minshew.
Then again, why can’t Beck make #19 his own?
