Bengals vs. Buccaneers preseason Week 1: 3 storylines fans must monitor

Preseason football is here, and while some fans would claim that the preseason doesn't matter, we're here to say, "Hey, that's not true!" While the ultimate outcome of the contests might not matter much, what happens between the lines during the game certainly does.

Here's three storylines Cincinnati Bengals fans will want to monitor during the team's first preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The play of Joe Burrow

All eyes will be on star quarterback Joe Burrow as he makes his return to game action for the first time since suffering a season-ending wrist surgery last season. Burrow is indeed expected to play in Cincinnati's first preseason game, although his action will likely be extremely limited. Nonetheless, fans will be understandably eager to see how Burrow looks out on the field since Cincinnati's success as a team is completely tied to Burrow's health.

Burrow doesn't sound like he expects to play too much at Tampa Bay. He recently stated that his ideal preseason would consist of a single drive that ended in the end zone. "Hopefully one drive. Score a touchdown and get outta there," he said.

Fans certainly shouldn't expect to see Burrow out on the field for long (if you tune into the game late you'll likely miss him), but how he looks is absolutely be a central storyline.

First taste of pro play for rookies

The first game of the preseason offers rookies their first taste of game action at the professional level, and it's always interesting to see how the first-year players respond. The Bengals several notable rookies for fans to keep an eye on in the game against Tampa Bay.

Offensive tackle Amarius Mims is competing for a starting spot out of the gate, and fans will be very curious to see how he looks out on the field after the team used a first-round pick to bring him to Cincinnati. There's also a lot of hype around wide receiver Jermaine Burton, who the Bengals selected in the third round of the draft. Fans are excited to see how he looks in Cincinnati's offense. He's competing for a starting spot, though he'll likely begin his career as a reserve.

Other rookies like Josh Newton and Kris Jenkins Jr. can potentially use the preseason to show that they're ready for a real role right from the jump. It will be worth keeping an eye on those players -- and all of Cincinnati's other rookies -- in the game against Tampa Bay.

Dan Pitcher's offense

One last thing Bengals fans will want to monitor is how the offense looks. Cincinnati underwent a coaching change over the offseason, as previous offensive coordinator Brian Callahan moved on to become the head coach of the Tennessee Titans. Dan Pitcher is now serving as the team's OC, and the game against the Bucs will technically be his debut in that role.

Fans will be curious to see how the offense looks under Pitcher compared to Callahan. You can only glean so much from a single preseason game, but it's something worth paying attention to.