NFL Preseason 8/21 Preview - News, Injuries, and Playing Time Notes

Aug 21st 2022

Sosa Kremenjas

We're heading into the second-to-last slate for Week 2 of the preseason. It'll feature a three-game showdown before the final contest on Monday.

Let's dive into the news, notes, depth charts, historical playing time, and notable injuries for all four teams heading into Thursday.

Philadelphia Eagles @ Cleveland Browns

Eagles Notable Injuries/Absences:

OUT: TE Tyree Jackson (knee), TE Jaeden Graham (undisclosed), C Jason Kelce (elbow); UNLIKELY TO PLAY: WB Jalen Hurts (rest), RB Miles Sanders (hamstring), AJ Brown (rest), DeVonta Smith (rest), WR Greg Ward (toe), TE Dallas Goedert (rest), DT Javon Hargrave (undisclosed); QUESTIONABLE: TE Grant Calcaterra (hamstring); LIKELY TO PLAY: WR John Hightower (groin), WR Keric Wheatfall (hamstring), WR Britain Covey (thumb)

Eagles News & Notes:

  • Sunday update as of 12 PM ET: Eagles starters aren't expected to play.

  • The Eagles haven't shared their preseason plans, but according to Zac Jackson and Zach Berman of The Athletic, both the Eagles and Browns are planning to play young players and end-of-the-roster players in this contest:

    • "This arrangement and the general itinerary were set months ago by the head coaches, the Eagles’ Nick Sirianni and the Browns’ Kevin Stefanski. Both plan to get their starters some full-speed work over the two practice days and then mostly shut things down for the weekend. Both coaches have said Sunday’s preseason game will be mostly for young players and guys down the depth chart."

  • Philadelphia did allow their starters to get some reps in preseason Week 1. The majority of the starters played just eight snaps before being pulled.

  • Another Athletic piece suggests both teams would bench their starters:

    • "Look for Bell to get work with the No. 1 offense in the practices with the Eagles and potentially in Sunday’s preseason game, when both teams are likely to sit most of their starters."

  • RB Jason Huntley had a strong workload in Week 1 — he led the team in snaps (41), rushing attempts (16), and targets (five).

Browns Notable Injuries/Absences:

OUT: QB Deshaun Watson, WR Jakeem Grant (Achilles), C Nick Harris (knee); UNLIKELY TO PLAY: QB Jacoby Brissett (rest), RB Nick Chubb (rest), RB Kareem Hunt (rest), WR Amari Cooper (rest), WR David Bell (foot), WR Michael Woods II (hamstring), CB Denzel Ward (foot), CB Greg Newsome (hamstring); QUESTIONABLE: WR Anthony Schwartz (knee), WR Mike Harley Jr. (ankle)

Browns News & Notes:

  • As we mentioned above, there's a good shot both the Eagles and Browns rest all their starters in this contest. The two teams shared a practice field for two days this past week and likely got enough quality work for their starting quality players.

  • It remains to be seen whether QB Jacoby Brissett is considered a starter. Brissett did not play in Week 1, while Deshaun Watson played just nine snaps. Watson has already been ruled out for the remainder of the preseason. There could be plenty of snaps available for Joshua Dobbs and Josh Rosen.

  • No player had a higher target share than Jerome Ford's 20.8%. He should get plenty of playing time in this game if both Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt are rested.

Cincinnati Bengals @ New York Giants

Bengals Notable Injuries/Absences:

OUT: QB Joe Burrow (appendectomy), RB Joe Mixon (rest), RB Elijah Holyfield (knee), WR Tee Higgins (shoulder), WR Ja'Marr Chase (rest), WR Tyler Boyd (rest), S Jessie Bates III (holdout); UNLIKELY TO PLAY: RB Samaje Perine (rest), TE Hayden Hurst (rest), TE Drew Sample (knee), RT La'El Collins (back), LB Logan Wilson (labrum); QUESTIONABLE: DE Sam Hubbard (undisclosed)

Bengals News & Notes:

  • According to Charlie Goldsmith, this could be the Bengals' starting offense:

  • It appears backup RB Samaje Perine will also get the night off, and the Bengals will ride with a heavy dose of Chris Evans.

  • Brandon Allen is expected to start the game at QB. Jake Browning is likely to take over in the second half, and Drew Plitt could find some playing time in the fourth quarter, according to Dan Hoard.

  • According to head coach Zac Taylor, the Bengals will deploy a similar strategy to their Week 1 game plan:

    • "'It will be similar to last week, maybe just different timing of guys,' head coach Zac Taylor said. "We've still got a couple days left. We haven't fully dove into what it's going to look like. But I would anticipate the same players playing again."

      Ja'Marr Chase, La'el Collins, Tee Higgins, Joe Mixon and the rest of the Bengals' stars will sit out for a second-straight week."

  • Looking at Week 1, these players led their positions in snaps:

    • QB Jake Browning - 48 snaps

    • RB Chris Evans - 28 snaps

    • WR Kwamie Lassiter II - 37 snaps

    • TE Thaddeus Moss - 27 snaps

Giants Notable Injuries/Absences:

OUT: RB Matt Breida (undisclosed), RB Gary Brightwell (undisclosed), WR Darius Slayton (undisclosed), WR Kadarius Toney (leg), WR Sterling Shepard (Achilles), WR Robert Foster (hamstring), TE Ricky Seals-Jones (undisclosed), TE Andre Miller (wrist), DT Leonard Willims; LIKELY TO PLAY: WR David Sills (undisclosed)

Giants News & Notes:

  • The Giants intend to play their starters in this game, but they're re-thinking their decision with how decimated their offensive line is by way of injury. QB Daniel Jones could still start, though it seems like an unnecessary decision to put him in harm's way. So far, no update. The Giants shouldn't expose their starters in this game, but if they do, they should be pulled fairly quickly (one or two series).

  • We do know the Giants have a laundry list of players — a lot of which are skill position players — unavailable for this contest:

  • Per Dan Duggan of The Athletic, both Tyrod Taylor and Jones could see time with the first-team offense:

    • "It will be interesting to see if Taylor gets reps behind the starting offensive line during Sunday’s game against the Bengals. Jones is expected to play more than the one quarter he logged in the preseason opener, but when he comes out, perhaps Taylor will get some time with the No. 1 offensive line."

Baltimore Ravens @ Arizona Cardinals

Ravens Notable Injuries/Absences:

OUT: QB Lamar Jackson (rest), RB Gus Edwards (knee), TE Mark Andrews (rest), C Tyler Linderbaum (foot), LT Ronnie Stanley (ankle), CB Marcus Peters (knee); UNLIKELY TO PLAY: RB J.K. Dobbins (knee), DE Tyus Bowser (Achilles); QUESTIONABLE: WR Rashod Bateman (rest), WR James Proche II (undisclosed), TE Charlie Kolar (hernia), CB Marlon Humphrey (rest); LIKELY TO PLAY: WR Devon Williams (undisclosed), WR Slade Bolden (undisclosed), WR Bailey Gaither (undisclosed)

Ravens News & Notes:

  • QB Lamar Jackson has been ruled out and Brett Hundley was released earlier in the week. Just two QBs remain — Tyler Huntley and Anthony Brown. Expect both guys to get a ton of playing time throughout the rest of the preseason.

  • Head coach John Harbaugh was fairly vague when talking about his playing time plans for this week:

    • "Harbaugh gave updates on a few injuries prior to their travels to Arizona, saying rookie center Tyler Linderbaum is expected to participate in individual drills on Friday, but won’t play on Sunday. Rookie offensive tackle Daniel Faalele is dealing with swelling, which is why he exited yesterday’s practice. Also, rookie cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis exited practice today after hitting his head, according to Harbaugh. Also, Harbaugh announced both Jackson and Andrews will not play Sunday, but did not mention many others. 'Some of the other starters won’t play,” Harbaugh said. “Maybe a couple of the starters will play, a little bit. It’s kind of hard to go through every guy.'"

    • "'Lamar isn’t going to play. Some of the other starters won’t play,” Harbaugh said. “There may be a couple other starters that will play a little bit. It’s kind of hard to go through every guy, but Mark Andrews isn’t going to play, for instance. … We’ll see, but that’s how it looks right now.'"

  • TE Mark Andrews has been ruled out, but he's not the only impact player on the roster at that position. Rookie Isaiah Likely pulled in all four of his targets last week for 44 yards with a highlight reel catch or two. He played just 27 snaps because he's likely ascended past end-of-the-roster treatment, but he'll be fun to watch if he gets extended playing time.

Cardinals Notable Injuries/Absences:

OUT: QB Kyler Murray (wrist); UNLIKELY TO PLAY: RB James Conner (rest), WR DeAndre Hopkins (rest), WR Marquise Brown (rest), WR Rondale Moore (rest), WR A.J. Green (rest), WR Antoine Wesley (hip), TE Zach Ertz (calf), C Rodney Hudson (knee); QUESTIONABLE: WR Andre Baccellia (ankle), TE Maxx Williams (knee), DE Markus Golden (toe); IN: TE Trey McBride (back)

Cardinals News & Notes:

  • RB Darrell Williams is dressed, though we don't know if he's going to play or how much.

  • QB Kyler Murray has been ruled out of this game. He will not play in any preseason games this season.

  • The Cardinals will go about Week 2 in a very similar way to Week 1. Head coach Kliff Kingsbury has already said his starters won't play:

  • Rookie second-round pick Trey McBride will suit up and make his debut after missing Week 1.

  • It'll be interesting to see how the Cardinals divvy up their WR snaps. Andy Isabella led the way with 55 snaps in Week 1, though Greg Dortch matched Isabella in target share at an elite 23.3% mark.