Getty Josh Allen reacts on the golf course at a PGA pro-am event.
After a bitter end to the Buffalo Bills season, Josh Allen is back and getting ready for next season — and fans are loving his choice of attire.
The Bills opened their offseason workout program on April 17, with players arriving in Buffalo to start their work toward the 2023-24 season. The Bills quarterback had taken some time off from activity in the offseason as he recovered from a nagging elbow injury. His return to Buffalo this week garnered plenty of attention, including some praise from fans for his shorts.
Josh Allen Ready to Go
The Bills posted pictures and videos of players arriving at the team facility in Orchard Park on Monday, including a short clip of Allen flashing a thumbs-up to the camera.
Fans were excited to see the quarterback back and healthy after playing through injuries for much of the 2022 season. Allen suffered an elbow injury in the team’s Week 9 loss to the New York Jets and played through pain and discomfort for the remainder of the season, though didn’t miss any actual time.
Josh Allen smiling, in shorts, and a thumbs up?!
It’s going to be a good week #BillsMafia
Many took note of Allen’s shorts, a reference to a pre-draft criticism that some analysts shared about Allen that while he looked sharp throwing at the NFL combine in shorts, he didn’t fare as well in real games at the University of Wyoming. Bills fans turned the criticism into a term of endearment to Allen, and have since pointed out times when he’s posed in shorts.
“I just want to look as good in shorts as Josh Allen,” one person tweeted after Allen’s arrival in Buffalo on Monday.
Allen’s arrival comes after a disappointing end to the Bills season, with the team losing to the Cincinnati Bengals in the divisional round of the playoffs.
Josh Allen Healing After Bruising Season
Allen has been in the midst of a low-key offseason, with Bills general manager Brandon Beane saying the quarterback was focusing on getting rest and recovery for his injured elbow.
“Josh wasn’t perfect,” Beane said back in March, via Pro Football Talk. “He takes hits and obviously the elbow, he had the setback against the Jets. But he’s a warrior, he’s not going to use it as an excuse.
“I think as the year progressed after that injury he was getting better and better. He was able to remove the brace that he had to wear for the first few weeks. No one’s 100 percent, though.”
Allen didn’t stay away from sports entirely since the end of the Bills season. Beane noted that he spent some time on the golf course, skipping the Pro Bowl for the second straight season to instead take part in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
“I know he’s played golf a few times and he’s kind of hitting the reset [button],” Beane said. “But he’ll be ready to roll come this offseason [program].”
Allen was joined on Monday by fellow injured star Von Miller, who has been rehabbing from an ACL tear suffered on Thanksgiving that brought an early end to his season. Bills head coach Sean McDermott said in March that Miller’s rehab is on track, and there is hope that he will be able to return for the start of the season.