Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen has been hearing for years that he needs to slide more often, but there are still times when he puts his body on the line in an attempt to pick up a few extra yards. Veteran backup Case Keenum has gone to great lengths to help put a stop to that style of play.
Several Bills players told Kalyn Kahler of The Athletic a story about how Keenum tried to incentivize Allen to protect himself more earlier in the season. Keenum and fellow Bills backup Matt Barkley noticed one play during Week 1 where they felt Allen should have slid. That inspired Keenum to issue a challenge to Allen.
“I might have incentivized him a little bit if he would slide during a game,” Keenum said. “It was not a monetarily incentivized thing. It was more something that I would do. Allegedly, I may or may not have told him I would wear only a jockstrap to one of our walkthroughs if he slid in a game feet first with nobody around him.”
Two weeks later, in Buffalo’s Week 3 game against the Miami Dolphins, Allen slid feet-first on a scramble play in the fourth quarter. Keenum then delivered on his promise.
The following week, Keenum emerged from the locker room during a Wednesday practice wearing nothing but a jock strap. Wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie said no one outside the quarterback room knew why Keenum was walking around half-naked.
“We all know that quarterback room is a little odd, so they do a lot of odd things,” McKenzie said.
When Kahler asked Allen about Keenum’s big payout, the Pro Bowl quarterback played coy.
“I can neither confirm nor deny those allegations,” Allen said. “I’m sure some of the receivers and the running backs might have something different to say about that, but I don’t really remember that.”
Allen has freak athleticism considering his 6-foot-5, 240-pound frame. He can certainly take a hit, but the Bills would rather their franchise cornerstone avoid getting walloped when he can help it. If Keenum’s antics saved Allen from taking even one big hit, the veteran deserves a lot of credit.
