Buffalo Bills fans have been waiting for quarterback Josh Allen to hit the field now that the preseason has started. However, it seems that the team is intent on protecting a vital player up until the regular season, as revealed by their coach, Sean McDermott.
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“I would love to, if you could put him in a bubble (and) guarantee me that he wasn’t going to get hurt,” McDermott told Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic. “For every player, you’d love to be able to say, ‘Hey, let’s get out there and let’s play three good games, and we’ll ramp you up each game and so on and so forth.”
“It’s just really hard to say that. So in Josh’s case, really using practice to see where he’s at and how he feels. And I’m giving him some ownership as well, which I think is important. He knows by now what he needs in order to be ready. Then this other piece over here is his time with healthy receivers. I think that’s probably kind of that next chapter of the book right now,” he added.
This puts all fans’ expectations of seeing Allen on the field during the preseason to rest. When asked if preseason snaps were an important part of his prep, Allen said, “No, I don’t think I need preseason reps. If I were to get them, I’d appreciate them. But I don’t think it’s a situation where we need to get out there,” as reported by Democrat and Chronicle.
This move indicates a larger trend within multiple teams to shield essential players from injuries by making them skip preseason games. Allen has played in 11 of a possible 21 preseason games in his career, with the 2020 preseason canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Last year, he played one series in the first preseason game, also against Chicago, and sat the remainder of August,” per the outlet Democrat and Chronicle.
Apart from Allen, running back James Cook was sitting out the preseason in protest against his contract situation, before finalizing a deal last week. Wide receiver Khalil Shakir is still on the sidelines with a high ankle sprain.
The Bills’ first regular-season game is scheduled to happen against the Baltimore Ravens on “Sunday Night Football” (September 7).
With contribution from Stuti Gupta