Buffalo Bills need to do a better job to protect Josh Allen in training camp

The Buffalo Bills have been in training camp for almost a week and there have been two different instances where their $258 million dollar quarterback was in the media for unnecessary reasons.

Per Matthew Bove, on the first day of full pads, the Bills offense tried to run a play where Allen received the snap and rolled out as a wide receiver to catch a pass but then was hit by cornerback Taron Johnson. It was reported that Allen was down for a couple of seconds which caused a scare at training camp. Even though reps are important and crucial, there should be no reason why fake plays are being shown off that involves the risk of an unnecessary contact injury to your quarterback.

In addition, on the second day of full pads practice, the Bills’ defense dominated and the offense looked off-beat. At one point during practice, the Bills’ offensive line was pushed back into Allen in which he injured his lower leg. While he was fine, the poor performance of the offensive line is what could have caused something more severe. According to Thad Brown, the offense struggled heavily which caused frustration overall.

After Allen was looked at and was able to stand on his own power, Joe Buscaglia reported that the injury seemed to be Allen's lower right leg. This has not been the best start to the full pads practice for the Bills offense. While there have been some highlights surrounding the Bills’ offense, having the franchise quarterback in the news about getting injured due to lack of protection or the play calling putting him in harm's way of a potential injury as being a receiver in the end zone. 

As the Bills continue to practice at training camp, there should be a little bit of change that ensures protection for Allen. Maybe it is a pitch count where he only takes a certain amount of snaps. Maybe it is not allowing contact on the quarterback. Even though practice makes perfect, the Bills coaching staff still has to keep in mind that if something happens to Allen (intentionally or not), it could be a long season for the team.