Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow will be held out of Friday’s preseason game against the Washington Football Team, Bengals coach Zac Taylor said Monday.
Burrow also sat out the team’s first preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as he prepares to return from last season’s left knee injury that included tears of both the ACL and MCL. Coincidentally, that injury occurred against Washington on Nov. 22.
Taylor wants to be cautious in hopes of Burrow not experiencing any setbacks leading up to the season.
“We’re just not there yet,” Taylor told reporters of the decision. “He could do it, I’m sure he wants to do it. But again, our No. 1 thing is making sure our guys are ready to play in Week 1 against Minnesota so putting him out there is just not what we’re going to do.”
Burrow had expressed interest in playing during the preseason. Cincinnati’s final tune-up is Aug. 29 against the Miami Dolphins.
The 24-year-old Burrow completed 65.3 percent of his passes for 2,688 yards with 13 touchdowns and five interceptions before his rookie season was derailed by the knee injury.
Burrow won the 2019 Heisman Trophy at LSU before being the No. 1 overall pick by the Bengals in the 2020 draft.
