I blame Sean McVay. He’s the guy who started it. He was the first coach to say, “let’s just not play any of our starters in the preseason”, and most of the rest of the league has moved to that model.
McVay reasons that instead of putting players at risk in preseason games, it’s better for them to get their meaningful work in more controlled scrimmages and drills. He hasn’t put his starting quarterback on the field for a single snap in a preseason game in the last seven years.
It's pretty shocking, given that close to 3 million tickets are sold for these games. And TV executives are interested in having viewers watch their programming. Remarkably, McVay had the nerve to veer off on this course despite being a 32-year-old. (I believe McVay moved to the model of putting everyone entirely in mothballs in his second season.)
It’s the standard now. The norm is to use the key players little if at all in the preseason. You would think Bryce Young, Will Levis and Deshaun Watson could use some reps, but they’re being held out.
The chart below shows the number of pass attempts by quarterbacks in the first two weeks of the preseason. Fourteen teams haven’t used their starter at all. The league average is 7 pass attempts for the projected starting quarterback.
For comparison, I’ve listed the same stats from 10 years ago. In that season, only one starter didn’t play in the first two weeks of the preseason (Drew Brees). Quarterbacks that year averaged two and half times as many pass attempts in their first two preseason games.
PASS ATTEMPTS IN FIRST TWO PRESEASON GAMES | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Team | 2014 | Att | 2024 | Att |
Cardinals | Carson Palmer | 13 | Kyler Murray | DNP |
Falcons | Matt Ryan | 14 | Kirk Cousins | DNP |
Ravens | Joe Flacco | 22 | Lamar Jackson | DNP |
Bills | EJ Manuel | 40 | Josh Allen | DNP |
Panthers | Cam Newton | 9 | Bryce Young | DNP |
Bears | Jay Cutler | 22 | Caleb Williams | 20 |
Bengals | Andy Dalton | 13 | Joe Burrow | 7 |
Browns | Brian Hoyer | 20 | Deshaun Watson | DNP |
Cowboys | Tony Romo | 5 | Dak Prescott | DNP |
Broncos | Peyton Manning | 27 | Bo Nix | 30 |
Lions | Matthew Stafford | 14 | Jared Goff | DNP |
Packers | Aaron Rodgers | 13 | Jordan Love | 2 |
Texans | Ryan Fitzpatrick | 26 | C.J. Stroud | 14 |
Colts | Andrew Luck | 23 | Anthony Richardson | 4 |
Jaguars | Blake Bortles | 28 | Trevor Lawrence | 4 |
Kansas City | Alex Smith | 27 | Patrick Mahomes | 14 |
Chargers | Philip Rivers | 8 | Justin Herbert | DNP |
Rams | Sam Bradford | 12 | Matthew Stafford | DNP |
Raiders | Derek Carr | 32 | Gardner Minshew | 33 |
Dolphins | Ryan Tannehill | 20 | Tua Tagovailoa | 5 |
Vikings | Teddy Bridgewater | 33 | Sam Darnold | 8 |
Patriots | Tom Brady | 10 | Jacoby Brissett | 10 |
Saints | Drew Brees | DNP | Derek Carr | 15 |
Giants | Eli Manning | 9 | Daniel Jones | 18 |
Jets | Geno Smith | 19 | Aaron Rodgers | DNP |
Eagles | Foles/Sanchez | 19/22 | Jalen Hurts | DNP |
Steelers | Ben Roethlisberger | 13 | Fields/Wilson | 23/10 |
Seahawks | Russell Wilson | 19 | Geno Smith | DNP |
49ers | Colin Kaepernick | 10 | Brock Purdy | 6 |
Buccaneers | Josh McCown | 11 | Baker Mayfield | DNP |
Titans | Jake Locker | 13 | Will Levis | 5 |
Commanders | Robert Griffin | 12 | Jayden Daniels | 15 |
—Ian Allan