Coach says Bills are ‘not rushing’ top pick Josh Allen
The Buffalo Bills drafted Josh Allen in the first round with the intention that he will be their quarterback for many years to come, but that does not mean the former Wyoming star is going to start in his rookie season.
The Bills are holding an open competition between Allen, A.J. McCarron and Nathan Peterman, and preseason games could ultimately be the deciding factor in who wins the job. But with Allen, Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott made it clear on Tuesday that the team is intentionally taking it slow.
#Bills HC Sean McDermott on the pace that they’re bringing along QB Josh Allen: “Calculated.” Also said, “We’re not rushing this.”
— Joe Buscaglia (@JoeBuscaglia) August 7, 2018
For Buffalo’s preseason opener on Thursday night, it does not sound like Allen is going to start.
#Bills HC Sean McDermott will not say who will be the first-team QB on Thursday night for the first preseason game. Says he wants to inform the players first. Says it’s possible both McCarron and Peterman get first-team time.
— Joe Buscaglia (@JoeBuscaglia) August 7, 2018
#Bills HC Sean McDermott on the QB competition: The games are important. Now we’ll have games to factor into that decision. We put a little bit more weight into games.
— Joe Buscaglia (@JoeBuscaglia) August 7, 2018
Believe it or not, Peterman has seemed like the most impressive QB in training camp thus far. Even if McCarron or Peterman win the Week 1 job, the Bills probably won’t hesitate to go to Allen midway through the season if things aren’t going well. The last thing they want to do is stunt his growth by putting him under center before he’s ready. They simply invested too much in him to go that route.
