Kenny Pickett, Carson Beck get Hall of Fame Game starts

The Hall of Fame Game doesn't usually mean much on the field, but it's the first real look at two quarterbacks trying to lock down a roster spot. Adam Schefter reported that Kenny Pickett will get the start for the Panthers, going up against Carson Beck and the Cardinals in Canton, Ohio.

Pickett's path to this moment has been a grind. The former first-round pick out of Pitt has bounced from the Steelers to the Eagles to the Browns to the Raiders, and he signed on with Carolina back in March as Bryce Young's backup after Andy Dalton got shipped to Philadelphia. Getting the Hall of Fame Game nod isn't a huge vote of confidence in the grand scheme, but it's a chance for Pickett to show he can still run an offense with real stakes attached, even preseason ones.

SleeperNFL couldn't resist ribbing Pickett's résumé while breaking the news, tacking on a joking "Super Bowl champion Kenny Pickett*" nod to his brief run with the Eagles before he got dealt away ahead of their title push. It's the kind of line that follows a journeyman backup quarterback around, fair or not.

On the other sideline, it's Beck's turn to audition. The Cardinals will start their rookie third-round pick out of Miami, with Schefter reporting the news came straight from head coach Mike LaFleur. Beck was one of the more talked-about names in this year's draft class after his transfer from Georgia, and Thursday marks his first NFL start of any kind, preseason or not.

Beck didn't sound rattled about the moment when SleeperNFL caught up with him beforehand. Asked if he's nervous ahead of his first NFL start, he said he can't really remember the last time nerves got to him "maybe when I was like 8 years old," framing it as just another game he gets to go have fun in.

Neither quarterback is walking into a settled QB1 job with these snaps. Pickett is holding down a backup spot behind Young, while Beck is fighting just to climb the Cardinals' depth chart as a rookie. But Thursday's game in Canton is still the first real evaluation point of the summer, and for two guys trying to carve out roles, that's more than enough reason to care about a game that usually means nothing.