The decision to rest Allen for all three preseason games is a departure from previous schools of thought. Even as Allen has solidified himself as one of the game’s elite QBs, the Bills have opted to play Allen in at least one preseason game each of the last three seasons
This year, though, the QB has shown enough in practices that McDermott decided to alter his preseason philosophy this year.
“That’s my job is to adjust as need be. You’ve got the reigning MVP, and I feel like he’s shown to this point that he’s in a good spot, he said.
Allen met with the media following Wednesday’s practice where the QB shared he and the starters have gone through additional conditioning drills before the first two preseason games. The plan is to do that again in Tampa Bay.
“Just making sure that I’m as in control that is possible, and making sure I’m getting extra reps conditioning,” Allen said.
As the Bills work through their final evaluations for the backup QB role, expect Saturday night to feature a heavy dose of Mike White, Mitch Trubisky and Shane Buechele.
While McDermott was forthright with his decision on Allen’s status against the Bucs, he said he’s still evaluating whether other starters on offense and defense will suit up.
“It’s hard to say and make a blanket statement yes to everything or no to everything, but I think it’s more on an individual basis who we feel like we need to still see, who has not been out there enough,” he said.