On the final drive of the Bills’ loss to the Jets last week, Josh Allen’s arm was hit while in the middle of a throw, causing him to immediately reach for his elbow. Many Buffalo fans feared the worst.
Now, just a week later, it seems like Buffalo’s franchise quarterback will be back under center for Sunday’s showdown with the Minnesota Vikings.
In the days after Josh Allen’s injury, speculation was rampant with reports ranging from a season-ending injury to a month-long one. On Tuesday of this week, it was confirmed that Allen had suffered a UCL sprain but that the Bills were going to take it day by day to see what he was able to do in practice. However, after he missed practice on Wednesday and Thursday, it seemed likely that backup Case Keenum would start on Sunday.
Yet, on Saturday, Buffalo didn’t elevate quarterback Matt Barkley from the practice squad, which meant only Josh Allen and Case Keenum would be active for the game, and Ian Rapoport tweeted that Josh Allen was able to grip a football and throw in practice on Friday.
Then, Adam Schefter reported early Sunday morning that Buffalo was leaning towards starting Allen, citing that “Bills officials spent intensive time this past week listening to their doctors and other arm specialists, and the team was reassured that Josh Allen is not at any added risk to make the injury worse if he plays today against the Vikings.”
While it’s obviously good news for Buffalo fans to hear that specialists believe their star can’t aggravate his injury any further, the prospect of seeing Allen out on the field at less than 100% with defenders knowing he’s hurt also figures to be anxiety-inducing.
Buffalo is 6-2 and in the top spot in the AFC, but they won’t go anywhere in the playoffs without Josh Allen at full strength. It’s fair to wonder whether giving him another week to rest and recover would have been better for the team’s long-term future. But obviously the team, in consultation with medical professionals, doesn’t believe this to be the case.
Buffalo will release its list of inactive players for the Vikings game at around 11:30 a.m. EST. It’s essentially a given that Allen won’t be on that list, so we won’t know for sure if he’s actually starting until the first snap of the game today at 1:00 p.m. EST. However, all indications are that he will be under center.
So Buffalo will have their star quarterback leading them without missing a game. And they’ll just have to hope it stays that way.
