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Factoid

Preseason football

Trend is to sit rather than use expected starters

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
Team2014Att2024Att
CardinalsCarson Palmer13Kyler MurrayDNP
FalconsMatt Ryan14Kirk CousinsDNP
RavensJoe Flacco22Lamar JacksonDNP
BillsEJ Manuel40Josh AllenDNP
PanthersCam Newton9Bryce YoungDNP
BearsJay Cutler22Caleb Williams20
BengalsAndy Dalton13Joe Burrow7
BrownsBrian Hoyer20Deshaun WatsonDNP
CowboysTony Romo5Dak PrescottDNP
BroncosPeyton Manning27Bo Nix30
LionsMatthew Stafford14Jared GoffDNP
PackersAaron Rodgers13Jordan Love2
TexansRyan Fitzpatrick26C.J. Stroud14
ColtsAndrew Luck23Anthony Richardson4
JaguarsBlake Bortles28Trevor Lawrence4
Kansas CityAlex Smith27Patrick Mahomes14
ChargersPhilip Rivers8Justin HerbertDNP
RamsSam Bradford12Matthew StaffordDNP
RaidersDerek Carr32Gardner Minshew33
DolphinsRyan Tannehill20Tua Tagovailoa5
VikingsTeddy Bridgewater33Sam Darnold8
PatriotsTom Brady10Jacoby Brissett10
SaintsDrew BreesDNPDerek Carr15
GiantsEli Manning9Daniel Jones18
JetsGeno Smith19Aaron RodgersDNP
EaglesFoles/Sanchez19/22Jalen HurtsDNP
SteelersBen Roethlisberger13Fields/Wilson23/10
SeahawksRussell Wilson19Geno SmithDNP
49ersColin Kaepernick10Brock Purdy6
BuccaneersJosh McCown11Baker MayfieldDNP
TitansJake Locker13Will Levis5
CommandersRobert Griffin12Jayden Daniels15

—Ian Allan

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