The 2026 NFL season finally gave us a real taste of football on Thursday, and let me tell you, it was wild! The Carolina Panthers took down the Arizona Cardinals in the Hall of Fame Game, but the real story wasn’t just the final score. Cardinals rookie quarterback Carson Beck absolutely blew the doors off expectations in his unofficial NFL debut.
Rookie Quarterbacks Steal the Show
Beck wasn’t messing around, slinging it for 15 completions on 19 attempts, racking up 188 yards and a touchdown. Seriously, a rookie doing that in his first unofficial game? He was making all sorts of throws, including some deep balls that helped the Cardinals put up 17 points. This guy added a whole new level of intrigue to a Cardinals team many pegged as one of the worst in the league this season. You gotta wonder what veteran QBs Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew are thinking right now, especially since neither of them even played.
But hold up, because Carson Beck wasn’t even the only rookie QB making waves. Undrafted free agent Haynes King, playing for the Panthers, had arguably the best outing of any quarterback all night. After stepping in for Kenny Pickett, King lit it up, completing 21 of 34 passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns. And then, as time expired, he pulled off the play of the game, rushing for a 5-yard score to seal a thrilling 33-30 victory for Carolina. Talk about making a statement!
Running Backs Get PAID
While all that rookie magic was happening, the NFL world was going nuts over running back contracts. Bijan Robinson with the Atlanta Falcons briefly became the league’s highest-paid running back. But that didn’t last long, like, at all.
Hours later, Jahmyr Gibbs and the Detroit Lions dropped a bombshell. Gibbs agreed to a three-year deal worth up to $75.75 million, with $51.5 million fully guaranteed. That’s it, folks: Jahmyr Gibbs is officially the highest-paid running back in NFL history! This guy earned it after a monstrous 2025 season where he piled up 1,223 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns, plus killed it in the passing game with 77 catches for 616 yards and five receiving touchdowns. He’s a legitimate dual-threat nightmare.
And just before the Gibbs news hit, the Indianapolis Colts locked up their own star, Jonathan Taylor, to a two-year extension worth $44 million, potentially up to $47 million, with $39 million guaranteed. Taylor’s entering his age-27 season coming off one of his best years since 2020. He was third in the league with 1,585 rushing yards and led the entire NFL with 18 touchdowns, adding 46 receptions for 378 yards and two receiving scores. This is a massive payday for a guy who absolutely grinds.
It’s wild to see the money flying around, and ESPN says no running back from the 2024 or 2025 drafts has even come close to Gibbs’ production, so his record might stand for a while. Of course, not everyone is getting paid. Down in Tampa Bay, we’re hearing that two star players there still haven’t landed their own pricey extensions. Ouch.
The season’s just kicking off, but if the Hall of Fame Game and these monster contracts are any indication, we’re in for a wild ride. The stakes are already high for these rookie QBs trying to shake up their teams, and those running backs just set a whole new bar for what it means to get paid in the NFL. Can’t wait to see what these guys do when the regular season gets real!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Fox Sports.
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