3 reasons why it was smart for coaches to not play starters in the NFL preseason
Every year, fans lament the NFL preseason because of the lack of starters playing in the games. Over the last few years, the trend has grown so much that seemingly half of the NFL holds their starters for every preseason game.
Though this may lead to a lack of big crowds in the preseason, it helps the teams attract big crowds when they make the playoffs. Here are three ways holding starters out of the preseason benefits teams.
Why it is smart for coaches to hold their first-team out of the NFL preseason
#1 - Avoids injuries
The Ravens had the worst ending to an NFL preseason possible. Their up-and-coming running back JK Dobbins tore his ACL and will miss the season. After all the work and resources spent on Dobbins leading up to 2021, the Ravens won't be able to use him. They'll be missing out on who could be one of the most productive backs in the NFL.
By holding all of their starters out of the game, the Ravens could have avoided this injury. Teams like the Los Angeles Rams, who hold out their starters, rarely run into preseason injuries like this.
Additionally, for the Ravens, suffering a preventable injury puts in doubt the way the Ravens make decisions. If they cannot make a correct call about injuries, who is to say they can make the correct call when it's fourth down and they need nine yards? Put simply, the more seeds of doubt, the more issues arise later down the line.
#2 - Keeps weaknesses under wraps
NFL fans are not the only ones watching the games. Other teams also have access to the tape and will be watching for any weaknesses a team may have. By playing their starters in the preseason, teams could be revealing too much about themselves, thus giving opponents an upper hand.
For example, Falcons new head coach Arthur Smith has said he's not showing any of his teams tendencies in the preseason. However, in the heat of the moment, is it likely that Smith is going to purposefully choose the wrong play for the situation with starters in the game? Subtle tendencies always surface at every position, no matter the intention.
#3 - Can only hurt trade bait
By holding their starters out of the NFL preseason, teams don't get an up-to-date look at the players they may want to trade for. For example, even if the Rams want to trade Andrew Whitworth, they have no way of knowing whether he has fallen off in his 39th year on this planet. His name sounds good, but what kind of shape is he in?
Opposing teams do not have this information and may overpay for a name with no up-to-date tape to back it up. This helps lead teams to finessing better draft picks than they'd otherwise get.