Remember, back to what feels like six years ago, when Carson Beck caught the NFL's attention with his performance in the Hall of Fame game, so much so that there was at least one national pundit saying Beck should be the Cardinals' Week 1 quarterback?

Yes, that was a lifetime ago.

All that talk seems moot now, with Jacoby Brissett playing so well in Week 1 (he was the top-rated quarterback in the NFL by Pro Football Focus, for what that's worth) and the Cardinals had a huge win. In the moment, it feels foolish to talk about anybody but Brissett playing QB this season.

That was always the goal anyway.

So maybe Beck doesn't see the field this season.

However, that just makes whatever practice work Beck can get this season that much more important. And Mike LaFleur promised he'd have a plan for that.

It's always hard for a third QB to get practice reps. The starter gets all the normal team reps in a game week. The backup is the one who performs with what LaFleur calls the "look squad" -- the scout team, which is 32 reps on Wednesdays, 36 on Thursdays and 20 of Fridays. The third QB is left to get what he can when he can.

But LaFleur instead has chosen to have QB2 Gardner Minshew II and Beck split the look squad work.

"We are making sure that Carson is connected with it," LaFleur said. "Regardless, even if we had not done that, the other thing we do with the potential inactives and practice squad guys, the guys that don't get a ton of reps with their side, they stay after practice in that 5-to-10 minute window where, in Carson's case, he can spot-throw through the script. You try to keep him as connected because as you know you are one or two plays away."

This is only possible, LaFleur said, because Minshew is now eight years into his career.

"We talked to Gardner," LaFleur said. "Gardner has played a lot of football and Carson hasn't. As you are trying to develop these guys we just thought it was right to do that. Had Gardner been a second-year guy and was the No. 2, we probably wouldn't be doing this."