The Las Vegas Raiders now have an active four-game losing streak after falling 35-21 to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 7. Given their recent struggles, head coach Klint Kubiak said the team is now reevaluating all their options.
Most notably, that includes a potential quarterback switch from veteran Kirk Cousins to No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza. "We're thinking about everything," Kubiak said.
That's the exact open-minded approach these rebuilding teams need to be taking in general to prioritize the long-term outlook, but especially when the losing starts to pile up. It's unfortunately night and day between the answers Kubiak provided during the Raiders' struggles, and the answers given by Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur during the Cardinals' struggles.
Cardinals should be more open to starting Carson Beck
Arizona now sits at 2-5 after yet another home loss, this time 30-16 to the Denver Broncos. LaFleur seems to be asked about whether a quarterback change will be coming after every week at this point, but takes a firm stance on Jacoby Brissett remaining at signal caller for the next week.
They should be taking a page out of Kubiak and the Raiders' book by exploring all their options -- including benching Brissett in place of third-round rookie Carson Beck.
Just looking at the respective draft pedigree between Mendoza and Beck, it's understandable that the Raiders have more confidence in making their switch. Vegas expects Mendoza to be the long-term answer, while Arizona doesn't fully know what they have in Beck.
However, that strengthens the case that the Cardinals need to give Beck a shot to evaluate him further. That creates a win-win scenario: either Beck plays well enough to cement himself as QB1 for this team, or his rookie season struggles put Arizona in a prime position to draft his replacement in next year's draft.
The silver lining is Brissett is also helping this team tank without even trying. But then again, it raises the question of why they decided to give him roughly $10 million more in a reworked deal this offseason. While Arizona can't go back and correct that mistake, they certainly shouldn't be doubling down on it, either.
Just like Cousins in Vegas, Brissett may not truly be the problem in Arizona. But by now, we've also seen too many games with him at quarterback to know he's not the answer, either. There needs to be more of a sense of urgency, or at least open-mindedness, about making the swap from Brissett to Beck. LaFleur should be looking to Vegas as the blueprint.
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