The NFL’s preseason starts with a familiar Canton tradition, and this year’s Hall of Fame Game brings a pair of teams with plenty to watch even before the first snap counts for anything. On Thursday night, the Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers meet at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, with Larry Fitzgerald and Luke Kuechly set to be honored before their Pro Football Hall of Fame induction on Saturday.
Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET on NBC, with streaming available through Fubo depending on local market, plus Peacock and NFL+ on mobile.
NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” crew is on the call, with Mike Tirico handling play-by-play, Cris Collinsworth on analysis and Melissa Stark working the sideline. The on-site “Football Night in America” pregame begins at 7 p.m.
ET and includes the studio debut of longtime Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin alongside Mike Florio, Jason Garrett, Devin McCourty and host Maria Taylor.
The rest of the 2026 Hall of Fame class will also be recognized before kickoff. Along with Fitzgerald and Kuechly, this year’s inductees are quarterback Drew Brees, running back Roger Craig and kicker Adam Vinatieri. Some of them are expected to be interviewed during the pregame show or the game itself.
Even with few, if any, starters expected to play much, this is still a useful first look at two teams with new faces in key spots. Arizona is the nominal home team in Canton and the game serves as the unofficial debut for first-year head coach Mike LaFleur, who arrives after three seasons as offensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams.
Last year’s Rams offense finished No. 1 in both points and yards, and LaFleur now takes over a Cardinals team in transition. Kyler Murray is gone to the Minnesota Vikings, while rookie running back Jeremiyah Love arrives as the No. 3 pick in April’s draft.
At quarterback, Arizona will start rookie Carson Beck. The third-round pick comes to the Cardinals after leading Miami to the College Football Playoff title game, and he sits third on the preseason depth chart behind Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew II.
Carolina will counter with Kenny Pickett, who gets the start at quarterback in place of Bryce Young. Pickett was the 20th overall pick in the 2022 draft and put together a 14-10 record with the Steelers before spending the last two seasons as a backup, with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2024 and the Las Vegas Raiders in 2025.
The Panthers are entering Dave Canales’ third year as head coach. Carolina went from 5-12 in 2024 to 8-9 and a division title last season, then hosted the Rams in a wild-card game that ended in a 34-31 loss despite strong performances from Young and receiver Jalen Coker.
There’s also some Canton history attached to both franchises. Arizona has gone 1-3-1 in five previous Hall of Fame Game appearances.
The Cardinals were part of the first Hall of Fame Game in 1962, when the franchise was still in St. Louis, and that game finished in a 21-21 tie with the New York Giants.
Their last appearance came in 2017, the same year Kurt Warner was inducted.
Carolina is 1-0 in the Hall of Fame Game, having beaten the Jacksonville Jaguars 20-14 in 1995 as two brand-new franchises. The Panthers won that night with a late goal-line stand, and Tyrone Poole added an 85-yard interception return that lit up the sold-out crowd.
Both teams also have strong representation in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Cardinals have 24 honorees tied to the franchise, including Fitzgerald, Kurt Warner, Larry Wilson, Aeneas Williams, Emmitt Smith and Roger Wehrli. The Panthers have seven, including Kuechly, Sam Mills, Julius Peppers, Kevin Greene, Jared Allen, Bill Polian and Reggie White.
As for the betting market, the numbers match the kind of game this usually is. Carolina is a slight favorite, with around a 55 percent implied probability to win and just a 1.5-point edge on the spread. The over/under is also higher than recent Hall of Fame Games, though this matchup still carries the same preseason uncertainty that has made the game a tough one to pin down.
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Panthers Run-First Plan Faces A Backfield Problem Fans Cant Ignore
Carolinas offense is built around the ground game, so the state of the backfield matters more here than it might for a team leaning on the pass. Chuba Hubbard is the current lead back, while Jonathon Brooks sits behind him as a recovering option with real upside if he can get and stay right. For a Panthers team that wants to control games with the run, that setup leaves little margin for error.
The concern is that the depth chart does not yet feel like a settled answer, even though the scheme keeps pointing in that direction. Hubbard has been viewed as a limited presence among NFL backs, and Brooks still comes with major uncertainty after his injuries. If Carolina is going to make its run-first identity work, it needs more than a placeholder at the top and a hopeful bet waiting in reserve. [Read more 🡒]
Bryce Youngs Situation Just Changed In A Way Panthers Fans Will Feel
The Panthers have already made one notable adjustment on offense, shifting play-calling duties from Dave Canales to offensive coordinator Brad Idzik, and Bryce Young has pointed to the continuity in the scheme as part of the transition. For a young quarterback still trying to settle into a stable rhythm, that kind of behind-the-scenes consistency can matter as much as any roster move, especially when the team is trying to keep the offense moving in the same direction.
Around the division, the quarterback picture is changing in ways Carolina will be watching closely. Falcons passer Michael Penix Jr. is expected to be cleared for 11-on-11 work by the end of August, while New Orleans has its own competition unfolding with Spencer Rattler focused on a backup role and a strong relationship with Tyler Shough and Zach Wilson. For the Panthers, the bigger question is whether this new setup helps Young turn continuity into production once the real games start. [Read more 🡒]
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Luke Kuechlys long-awaited place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame says as much about the man as it does the player, and it has brought back the kind of respect he commanded throughout his Panthers career. Former teammates and coaches have been quick to praise his character, work ethic and the way he influenced people around him, which is no surprise for anyone who watched how he carried himself in Carolina.
Greg Olsens recollection from training camp offered a fitting reminder of that mindset, with Kuechly already worrying about whether the Hall of Fame news would interrupt team routines. It is a small detail, but one that fits perfectly with the image Panthers fans have held onto for years: a star who never seemed to put himself ahead of the group, even when the biggest individual honor in the sport was coming his way. [Read more 🡒]