This is the obvious top objective for any team in the preseason, but it is even more true than normal for this year’s Bengals. There is no doubt temptation for rookie head coach Zac Taylor to play his main cogs a fair bit this preseason. However, if we learned anything from last year’s rash of injuries, it is that the Bengals roster is not particularly deep. There wasn’t a ton of player turnover in the offseason either.
With first round pick Jonah Williams already out for all of the regular season and A.J. Green missing part of it, the Bengals are already in a position where they cannot afford another major injury.