With the NFL preseason just ending and the season just beginning, there have been some key highlights from season-ending injuries, intense quarterback competition and some rookie breakout performances.
The NFL preseason has shown some new and old faces. We have Rookie Dante Miller from the New York Giants leading with 215 rushing yards. Trailing right behind him is another Rookie, Frank Gore Jr., with 213 rushing yards.
As it has been since 1993 every team has to cut their team to 53 active players. With most teams exceeding that limit to almost double that. The rule states that there can be no more than 53 active players but that leaves room for suspended players, injured players, and other situations.
As you can see every pre-season game matters for starting positions but also for staying on the team. The pre-season is every rookie’s and reserve player’s chance to make it to the starting line-up. In many cases the usual starters don’t get played because of risk of injury and other reasons.
On the other end, quarterback rookies Skylar Thompson (Pittsburgh Steelers) and Jaxson Dart (New York Giants) have shown some talent and are looking to compete. With Thompson leading the pack by over 100 yards.
Those are two quarterbacks to look out for but this may be the case particularly for Jaxson Dart who despite naming Russell Wilson the starter, the Giants were impressed with rookie Jaxson Dart, who is listed as the team’s primary backup. So if Russell Wilson starts to struggle, Dart will have the opportunity to prove himself.
For the Buccaneers, Jalen McMillan and Chris Godwin both are sidelined with injuries, with McMillan starting the season on injury reserve with a severe neck strain. This makes rookie Emeka Egbuka a much more critical piece of the offense and will get more chances to show out.
But good news isn’t all that comes out of preseason with Thompson’s hamstring leading him to be inactive for Sunday’s Week 1 clash against the Seahawks but is listed as Pittsburgh’s emergency third quarterback.
If you watched the last season, you know the Lions had one of the best seasons in the NFL, but this year their pre-season was lacking. The Lions were voted by 16 out of 31 coaches to be the most likely to fall short of expectations this season. On the other hand, the team that was projected the best and played the best during the pre-season is the Eagles
