In the first preseason game for the Buffalo Bills, they held out all their starters against the Indianapolis Colts. However, head coach Sean McDermott confirmed on Thursday that will change and all starters, including Josh Allen, should play a “healthy amount“.
This is different from last year when the Buffalo Bills had the starters play mostly in the third preseason game with backups primarily playing in the first and second preseason game.
As Alaina Getzenberg tweeted, McDermott said there were multiple reasons for having Josh Allen out there in the preseason. One specifically was that he wants their starting quarterback to get comfortable with Ken Dorsey calling in plays.
The fact that they have moved it up may be to give the Buffalo Bills the opportunity to play starters in the third preseason game if they feel that is necessary after this game.
This is the first time in Allen’s NFL career that he will have someone calling plays for him that is not Brian Daboll. The learning curve won’t be as steep since he has a relationship with Dorsey with him being the quarterback coach the past few years but there will still need to get some experience.
Certainly a big risk for Buffalo Bills and Josh Allen having him play Saturday
While there will be benefits of having Josh Allen in game situations and getting familiarity with communicating with Ken Dorsey in those situations, it does open key players to injury risks.
Some teams are already having to deal with these situations and one of those teams is an AFC East rival. The New York Jets saw their starting quarterback, Zach Wilson, suffered a knee injury in their first preseason game. He had surgery this week and it is unknown if he will be ready for their first game of the season.
The Buffalo Bills are entering the season with high expectations and if they were to lose Josh Allen due to an injury for an extended period of time, it would be a big hit to their Super Bowl hopes.
The hope is that with Josh Allen on the field, the play calling from Dorsey will be quick passes or run plays. The more plays that get the ball out of Allen’s hands quickly will limit the chances that the Buffalo Bills’ franchise quarterback could take a hit.
4 Buffalo Bills who could secure their roster spot against Denver Broncos
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