Something all teams wrestle with in pre-season...
The preseason is over, and the final starting quarterback numbers are in.
Of the league's 32 teams, 12 didn't play their established top quarterback in a game.
That includes Drake Maye's Patriots and Sam Darnold's Seattle Seahawks, putting an added twist on the Super Bowl LX rematch that opens the 2026 regular season on Wednesday, Sept. 9 (NBC, 8:20 p.m. ET).
Will both quarterbacks be rusty without feeling game speed? Is the element of surprise in play more than it would have otherwise been?
Those are among the compelling questions to be answered in Seattle.
Also of note is that keeping Maye on the sideline throughout didn't appear to be Patriots coach Mike Vrabel's original intention.
When Vrabel first connected with Cleveland Browns coach Todd Monken about plans for last Thursday's preseason finale, Monken shared they "had talked about initially wanting to play our starters -- get them a series or two." But Monken said both coaches ultimately came to the same conclusion: "We both felt like we were thin, especially up front on both sides of the ball. We just felt we'd be better off not playing our starters in the game."
So it was a Maye-less, starter-less preseason in New England, which Vrabel explained further late Thursday night after his backups were thumped 37-13 in a low-energy, short-week loss.
"We just wanted to try to get to the regular season with the guys that we had ... I know that's a difficult decision. I don't think there's a right or wrong answer," Vrabel said.
ESPN
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
Other teams that didn't have their starter play in the preseason this year include the Steelers (Aaron Rodgers), Colts (Daniel Jones), Jaguars (Trevor Lawrence), Chiefs (Patrick Mahomes), Eagles (Jalen Hurts), Lions (Jared Goff), Saints (Tyler Shough) and Rams (Matthew Stafford).
In the case of the Colts' Jones and Chiefs' Mahomes, they are both returning from serious injuries sustained in 2025.
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
I read this the other day. (Or something similar) I have no idea how this years compares to past years, but I was surprised at how many didn't play a single snap during preseason.
LIVE WELL ~ LOVE MUCH ~ LAUGH OFTEN
Because you don't want your season to end before it ever begins. Its smart. I'll take a bit of rust to shake off over watching my QB1 tear his ACL because the 2nd string DT on the opposing D is trying to make a football team in a stupid preseason game.
StickierBuns wrote:
Because you don't want your season to end before it ever begins. Its smart. I'll take a bit of rust to shake off over watching my QB1 tear his ACL because the 2nd string DT on the opposing D is trying to make a football team in a stupid preseason game.
It puts the qb in game 1 in a position that he's more likely to be injured against no. 1's and no conditioning.. I don't know that it's a big win. Less snaps during unimportant times, but also less preparation. I'm not sure over time it's proved to be the right answer.
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