It is reported that the Buffalo Bills have set a deadline for completing Josh Allen’s extension this offseason. According to John Wawrow of The Associated Press, general manager Brandon Beane has essentially set a deadline sometime before the first regular season game to work out a contract extension with their star quarterback Josh Allen.
"“Josh and I are in lockstep on that,” Beane said during a brief interview after practice. “There will be no negotiating in-season. At some point we will press the pause button.”"
While there would be a level of comfort knowing that the best quarterback to play for Buffalo Bills since Jim Kelly was tied to the franchise long-term, this is not something that they need to rush.
More importantly, it is a smart move by Brandon Beane and the Bills to set a deadline. The reason is that this is a team that believes they can compete for a Super Bowl this season. This is one of the last things that the front office of the Bills, head coach Sean McDermott, or quarterback Josh Allen need to be asked about during a time that they should be focusing on their next opponent.
The other reason is that negotiations appear to be amicable and ultimately will end with the Buffalo Bills reaching a new deal with Josh Allen. Earlier in the offseason, it was reported that while Josh Allen wasn’t necessarily willing to give a ‘hometown discount’ he wanted to work with the team to help in terms of other ways, like the structure of the deal.
Follow this up with a tweet from Kim Jones of NFL Network over the weekend that Allen is comfortable with not reaching a new deal this offseason and said it’s the “least of my worries.”
On @BuffaloBills-Josh Allen extension: No current momentum toward deal. Could change. If on, say, Aug 15 there is still no progress, sides could agree to table until after season. Josh knows it’s not IF he gets deal in #BUF but WHEN. Josh said contract is “least of my worries.”
— Kim Jones (@KimJonesSports) July 30, 2021
In this situation, with both sides making it clear they want to get a deal done, it is smart for Brandon Beane to set the deadline right before the regular season to end negotiations. This still gives the two sides about a month to work out a new deal but if they don’t it allows everyone to focus on the season and chase that Super Bowl title.