Jared Goff preseason Bengals
Jared Goff preseason Bengals
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The Detroit Lions will open the preseason Thursday night in Cincinnati, but Jared Goff will not be taking the field.
Dan Campbell made that clear Sunday when discussing Detroit’s quarterback plan for its first preseason game against the Bengals.
“I don’t see Goff playing,” Campbell said. “Even if we didn’t have another quarterback, Goff’s not playing. We’ll just roll somebody out there. Give me a name. We’ll put Tom Kennedy at quarterback. We’d do that in a heartbeat. He can run the whole show for the game.”
Campbell was joking about Kennedy, but there was nothing uncertain about the larger message.
Detroit is protecting its starting quarterback.
Jared Goff Lions motivation Detroit Lions captains 2026 Jared Goff quarterback ranking Jared Goff preseason Bengals
Jared Goff Lions motivation Detroit Lions captains 2026 Jared Goff quarterback ranking Jared Goff preseason Bengals
With Teddy Bridgewater stepping away from the team, the Lions have been working through changes behind Goff.
Campbell said rookie Luke Altmyer is expected to receive a significant amount of work Thursday, while Detroit will also try to prepare any newly added quarterback quickly enough to contribute.
“I don’t see Goff playing,” Campbell said. “Altmyer is going to take a heavy load. Anybody else we add, we’ll get them up to speed as fast as we can and give them some reps.”
Detroit has since moved to add veteran Josh Dobbs, giving the Lions another option to split the preseason workload with Altmyer.
For the rookie, Thursday should provide his biggest opportunity yet to show how far he has progressed since joining the Lions.
Goff will not be the only prominent Lion watching from the sideline.
Campbell indicated that Detroit plans to be selective with its established players against Cincinnati.
“I really don’t see a lot of our guys playing,” Campbell said. “We’ll play some of them. We have some competitions going on at certain spots. But when you ask about Goff, I don’t see him playing.”
That means Thursday’s game should be far more important for players fighting for roster spots than for Detroit’s established core.
Expect plenty of snaps for younger players, reserves and those competing for roles on special teams.
Campbell also provided a clue about when Detroit could begin getting more serious with its preseason lineup.
“We’ll gauge it as we go,” Campbell said. “I think the bigger questions will come next week when we start getting into Washington week. That was always where I targeted things. That may be where we need to play our guys. That was the first one I was thinking about.”
That makes Detroit’s second preseason game much more interesting.
Campbell appears to have identified Washington as the first realistic opportunity to give some of his regular starters live game work before the regular season.
For Goff, though, Thursday is already settled.
He is sitting.
Lions starters preseason Jahmyr Gibbs contract Tyler Lacy Lions defense Dan Campbell Lions padded practice
Lions starters preseason Jahmyr Gibbs contract Tyler Lacy Lions defense Dan Campbell Lions padded practice
The Lions will not risk Jared Goff in their preseason opener Thursday against the Bengals.
Luke Altmyer is expected to handle a heavy workload, with newly added veteran Josh Dobbs potentially getting snaps once he is brought up to speed.
Campbell also expects many of Detroit’s established starters to sit, making the Cincinnati game primarily an evaluation opportunity for players competing further down the roster.
The bigger preseason test for Detroit’s starters could come one week later against Washington.
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