The Nfl Preseason Is Here — But Your Favorite Star Likely Won’t Be

No backmost passed for much yards aliases touchdowns during nan 2024 NFL play than Cincinnati Bengals superstar backmost Joe Burrow. It made what Burrow did to statesman nan 2025 play each nan much singular Thursday night: He really played successful a preseason exhibition.

“I deliberation we sewage 15 reps tonight, truthful we’re 15 reps better,” Burrow said aft Cincinnati’s preseason-opening nonaccomplishment to Philadelphia.

That equaled really galore preseason snaps Burrow had played successful his erstwhile 5 NFL seasons combined, according to Pro Football Focus.

The Bengals elected to play aggregate starters Thursday partially because they were healthy, and partially retired of hope. After starting 0-2 successful 5 of its past six seasons, nan squad seemed to work together pinch disapproval that trying to sphere its roster’s preseason wellness had stunted its readiness for nan regular season.

“They don’t find their hit until for illustration Week 5 of 6,” erstwhile Bengals backmost Boomer Esiason said last month. “It’s ridiculous.”

Yet nan Bengals’ displacement successful preseason accuracy isn’t nan norm successful a convention wherever nan preseason is getting started, but galore of nan biggest names will apt not. Buffalo Bills backmost Josh Allen, nan reigning MVP, will not play successful Saturday’s preseason opener against nan New York Giants. Washington’s Jayden Daniels, past season’s NFL Rookie of nan Year, was among aggregate starters who didn’t return nan section successful Thursday’s preseason opener successful New England. Baltimore backmost Lamar Jackson hasn’t played a preseason threat successful 4 years.

If key, highly weighted players do look successful nan preseason, it’s often during nan past imaginable game, and past moreover not for agelong arsenic teams mostly judge nan chance to build hit isn’t awesome capable to outweigh nan consequence of injury.

Inside nan league, blasted aliases praise for nan inclination of sharply reducing aliases outright eliminating starters’ preseason workloads is often attributed to Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay, who began holding retired his champion players wholly during nan preseason successful his 2nd play successful Los Angeles successful 2018, moreover though nan Rams were starting a young quarterback.

Los Angeles went connected to beforehand to nan Super Bowl, and whether nan preseason remainder for cardinal players was connected astatine each to its play during nan regular season, it was capable successful a copycat convention — wherever caller ideas do not enactment proprietary for agelong — for others to adopt nan aforesaid approach.

During nan 2024 preseason, 14 teams didn’t play their presumed starter for a azygous threat during nan first 2 weeks of nan preseason — up from conscionable 1 squad successful 2014, according to a comparison done past year.

“We consciousness assured and comfortable pinch nan attack we’re taking and we understand that it mightiness not beryllium for everybody,” McVay said successful 2019.

“Everybody” included those who contend that building hit during nan preseason is worthy nan consequence of injury.

“For me, to person a crisp knife, I person to really sharpen it,” erstwhile Rams backmost Vince Ferragamo told nan Los Angeles Times successful 2018. “Sometimes what you do successful believe and past play successful a crippled is simply a full different aspect.”

McVay and nan Rams mightiness not person put their apical players connected crystal during preseason games if not for nan emergence of different inclination happening astatine nan aforesaid time, arsenic franchises progressively began hosting “joint practices.” Their entreaty stemmed from nan opportunity for value repetitions but successful a much controlled scrimmage than a game. Although a starting defense could look disconnected against its opponent’s starting discourtesy successful a associated practice, tackling was often constricted and hitting quarterbacks was efficaciously outlawed.

Before making his preseason debut past season, No. 1 wide prime Caleb Williams said he believed preseason “reps are ever paramount for anybody for illustration myself: a young rookie, second-year guy, [or] third-year guy.” Yet this year, arsenic a second-year feline playing nether a caller caput coach successful Chicago, nan backmost will not play successful nan Bears’ preseason opener. The squad alternatively wanted to prioritize his playing clip during associated practices pinch Miami.

Teams are progressively consenting to beryllium starters because of nan wounded consequence that became a taxable of superior interest Thursday successful Indianapolis. During a preseason crippled astatine Baltimore, Colts backmost Anthony Richardson dislocated a pinkie finger amid his title to clasp connected to nan starting job. Yet holding an important subordinate retired of a crippled is nary guarantee they will participate nan regular play healthy. Just inquire nan Chargers, who mislaid cardinal violative lineman Rashawn Slater to a season-ending knee wounded during a believe this week.

This month, 30 of nan 32 teams will play 3 preseason games — only nan Los Angeles Chargers and Detroit Lions, who besides played successful nan July 31 Hall of Fame exhibition, will play much — and galore person signaled that they will again play starters and stars sparingly, if astatine all.

Jacksonville is 1 of nan fewer exceptions. The Jaguars are expected to play astir starters successful Saturday’s preseason opener against Pittsburgh, including No. 2 wide prime Travis Hunter and starting backmost Trevor Lawrence arsenic a measurement to summation their repetitions pursuing a melodramatic offseason overhaul.

“Look,” Jacksonville coach Liam Coen said. “If we had 3 [joint practices] and 2 days of activity [within] each of those joints, we astir apt wouldn’t beryllium playing” starters.

Their opponent, meanwhile, will beryllium caller backmost Aaron Rodgers, nan erstwhile MVP successful his first play pinch Pittsburgh. He reportedly offered to play, but was among a group of 15 starters who will beryllium retired astatine slightest nan first preseason crippled because “they request little runway to return off, to beryllium rather honorable pinch you,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said.

A subordinate arsenic bully arsenic Burrow would seemingly request small proverbial runway, either, but he has called nan Bengals’ alteration of accuracy “the correct decision.” But not everyone is altering their attack to nan preseason. Matthew Stafford, nan Los Angeles Rams’ starting quarterback, won’t play successful nan team’s preseason opener this week while dealing pinch a backmost injury.

But it didn’t return nan wounded to cognize he wouldn’t return a azygous crippled threat successful August.

“There is zero chance you will ever spot Matthew Stafford return a threat successful nan preseason for nan Rams arsenic agelong arsenic I’m nan coach,” McVay said successful 2021. “That will ne'er happen.”