Zac Taylor doesn’t need to see Joe Burrow play in preseason
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow hasn’t participated in practice so far this summer. Will he play in the preseason?
Joe Burrow has yet to have a normal offseason during his NFL career. The former No. 1 overall pick by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2020 didn’t get a true offseason that first year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the following year he was still recovering from his surgery.
This offseason, fresh off a Super Bowl appearance, Burrow had his appendix removed right before training camp got underway. This led to Burrow not seeing the practice field other than for light throwing though he has been present at camp and has observed on the sidelines.
The question now remains — Will Joe Burrow play in the preseason?
When speaking to the media following Monday’s practice, Zac Taylor was asked about Burrow’s availability for the preseason. Taylor said that he doesn’t need to see his starting quarterback appear in any of the three games leading up to the Week 1 tilt with the Steelers.
On Joe Burrow playing in the preseason: "Do I need to see him? No... He played three plays last year (in the preseason) threw one screen for a negative 25 yard loss; almost had four injuries and so that was all he did last preseason and he started pretty good."
— Charlie Goldsmith (@CharlieG__) August 8, 2022
Zac Taylor is fine if Joe Burrow doesn’t play in the preseason.
Honestly, can you blame Taylor for having this take? Burrow proved last year that he can be the franchise quarterback for the Bengals, leading them to the Super Bowl and passing for the most yards in a single season by any Bengals quarterback.
The preseason is nice to get teams in sync before the regular season gets underway but the fact of the matter is that injuries can occur so it’s better to be safe than sorry. Burrow didn’t appear in the preseason much last summer and look at what he was able to accomplish this past season.
With Taylor making this comment, there’s a strong chance that we don’t end up seeing Burrow take any snap during the course of the preseason, and if he doesn’t, it might be for the better.
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