Bengals' Latest Joe Burrow Decision Causes Uproar Before Start of NFL Preseason

Bengals' Latest Joe Burrow Decision Causes Uproar Before Start of NFL Preseason originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

There's no doubt that the 2024 season was a major disappointment for the Cincinnati Bengals, missing out on the playoffs for the second straight year after compiling a 9-8 record.

However, one bright spot to the season was quarterback Joe Burrow, who played extremely well, completing 460 of 652 passes for 4,918 yards, 43 touchdowns, nine interceptions and a 108.5 passer rating.

Despite those impressive numbers, though, on Wednesday, head coach Zac Taylor made it clear he wants Burrow to get some extra work in before their Week 1 matchup against the Cleveland Browns, revealing the quarterback will be playing in more preseason games than ever before.

The Bengals are hoping to buck a recent trend of slow starts to the regular season. They began the 2024 season 0-3 after a 1-3 start in 2023 and an 0-2 start in 2022.

Bengals Head Coach Zac Taylor said Joe Burrow will play more in preseason games than he ever has. #Bengals@WCPOpic.twitter.com/6aqzNymBvb

— Marshall Kramsky (@marshallkramsky) July 23, 2025

The decision has quickly been met with frustration from Bengals fans, with one big factor being that adding any more wear and tear on Burrow's body on top of the already long 17-game regular season could end badly.

"If burrow is injured, then get ready for Taylor to be fired and the bengals to be trash," said one comment.

"I dont think ive ever watched a snap of joe burrow and thought 'this guy needed more preseason reps,'" said another.

"The guy with injury history that was 0% of the issue last season? Yeah, good idea," a third added.

A fourth stated, "Ah yes and risk losing ur superstar qb in meaningless games smart thinking."

"Why? After signing Desmond Ridder this seems like a bit of a risk?" a fifth continued.

"Sure. Increased Burrow preseason reps will help the D not give up 40 per game," said another.

However, it is worth noting that an increase in his preseason playing time won't be hard to hit, as he's someone who has rarely seen the field in these exhibition matchups.

In fact, since entering the NFL in 2020, his most preseason action came in 2024, where he completed just 5 of 7 passes for 51 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions while not being sacked a single time.

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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 23, 2025, where it first appeared.