The NFL preseason is viewed many different ways by people across the league.
More and more in recent years, teams have used the preseason games as a way to determine places on the back of the roster while avoiding getting starters into too much risk of injury.
The Cincinnati Bengals aren't taking that approach this year, though.
Head coach Zac Taylor told reporters on Tuesday that his starters will see "several series" in the preseason opener against the Philadelphia Eagles.
The reason: Cincinnati wants to avoid a slow start to the season.
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Taylor implied that there should be solid workloads again for the starters in the second preseason game, against the Washington Commanders.
It's a fair goal, to be sure. The Bengals are coming off a season that didn't quite go as planned, and so wanting to hit the ground running is a logical approach to take.
But in the game of football, there's risk involved.
Sure, a player can get hurt anytime, at practice or in his home or all sorts of other ways. But the most likely way is in the unpredictable, physical matchup with another team during a game.
It's a necessary evil during the regular season and beyond.
But in the preseason, teams have the choice to hold players out and protect them.
Joe Burrow is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. The Bengals don't have Super Bowl hopes if they don't have Burrow.
That's close to true for a guy like Ja'Marr Chase, as well.
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No one will argue with Cincinnati's premise that clicking on all cylinders when Week 1 comes around is a good place to be.
But the risk has to be acknowledged. The more plays Burrow is on the field in the preseason, the more chances there are of something fluky happening that keeps him out of more important action.
No one wants that, least of all the Bengals, but it's officially in play with this decision to use Burrow and company for ample action in the preseason.
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