under Lavell underclassmen didn't play at QB. Your assumption is that playing in games would beneficial to TM. I'm not certain that's the case. It could be detrimental. With receivers making bad reads, running the wrong routes (or making the wrong cuts on plays where they are supposed to make reads) and the OL pass protection less than stellar, you may be taking the future and putting him in a situation where he can't succeed and where he picks up a lot of bad habits (like always rolling out of the pocket to pass . . . ).

Maybe Detmer thinks the best place for TM's own progression is standing next to him on the sidelines getting coached up and getting a year of practice with the receivers. Regardless of who plays QB, we can already see that it's going to take the rest of the offense more than spring and fall camp to to get even to an adequate level with this offense. Maybe Taysom is the sacrificial lamb for year one and they want to cultivate TM properly.

I don't know. It's just a guess. But I don't automatically assume playing TM would be good for TM (regardless of the effect on the team).