The Cincinnati Bengals kept quarterback Joe Burrow out of preseason action for the second straight week, even though he lobbied to play.
Cincinnati chose to keep its franchise quarterback, the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2020, out of harm’s way during its Friday exhibition game against the host Washington Football Team.
Burrow also wasn’t used during last week’s preseason opener, a 19-14 Bengals win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Backups Brandon Allen and Kyle Shurmur played under center in that game for Cincinnati, and Allen started Friday’s game as well.
The Bengals also held out several other starters and contributors including defensive end Joseph Ossai and newly signed cornerback Eli Apple.
As a rookie in 2020, Burrow started 10 games for Cincinnati and threw for 2,688 yards, 13 touchdowns and five interceptions with a 65.3 percent completion rate. The Bengals went 2-7-1 in his starts.
Burrow has his sights set on the preseason finale against the Miami Dolphins on Aug. 29.
“I’ve been lobbying. Just saying what plays I might like against Miami, third downs, first couple plays,” Burrow said. “Just throw some plays out there and put them in (the coaches’) head. I think (playing) would help; however many plays I would get, I think it would help.”
