Bills quarterback Josh Allen took a helmet to the outside of his left knee late in Buffalo’s 24-16 Week 3 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, and a prominent sports doctor says the team isn’t owning up to what the video, in his view, clearly shows.
That gap between what Dr. Jesse Morse describes and what Buffalo’s coaching staff has said publicly is now a key question for the Bills heading into a Week 4 home game against the New England Patriots, with Allen’s practice status still unconfirmed as of Tuesday morning.
The hit came with 9:46 left in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game against the Chargers at the new Highmark Stadium, when a defender caught Allen on an eight-yard scramble.
He stayed in the game and even ran a designed play on Buffalo’s next possession. Afterward he limped noticeably, and locker-room video caught him wincing on a back-step with the same leg. RotoWire has since listed him as a knee concern with an estimated Oct. 4 return, a designation that would make him available for the showdown with the division-rival Patriots.
Josh Allen’s Knee Diagnosis, Per Sports Doctor
Morse posted a video on Sunday projecting a possible Grade 2 MCL sprain for Allen, alongside a bone bruise, adding that a mild sprain likely means the 30-year-old, nine-year veteran plays in a knee sleeve while even a moderate sprain could cost him time.
“Josh Allen, probably a mild left bone bruise, maybe mild MCL. Not really concerned about it at all, but for betting purposes, it’s worthy of discussion, at least admitting that it’s there. They probably won’t admit it, but that’s okay,” Morse said in a video posted to X Tuesday morning.
Morse first made the accusation Monday, after coach Joe Brady told reporters the team would “see how Allen progresses the next couple days” and that the quarterback is “always a little sore the day after the game,” as quoted by a RotoWire NFL posting.
Morse responded to Brady’s statement, calling it an admission that Allen “is banged up but they don’t want to admit it.”
Morse went on to post on his social media channels that he has “video evidence” of a left-knee injury to Allen, that Buffalo doesn’t have to disclose anything until Wednesday’s report and that any treatment on the knee “has to be on the injury report,” Morse wrote.
Josh Allen’s Injury History and Bills’ Week 4 Outlook
Not every clinician agrees. Former NFL team physician Dr. David Chao called it a contusion, saying Allen’s foot wasn’t planted and he sees no significant ligament damage, as quoted by Sports Illustrated. Dr. Ribu Thomas offered a similar bruise-not-tear read on social media, and both he and Chao expect Allen to play Sunday.
Allen’s durability record backs the skepticism. His only multi-game absence remains a 2018 rookie elbow sprain. Since then he’s built a streak of 125 consecutive starts, the longest active streak at the position. He played through a 2024 hand injury, a 2025 shoulder stinger, and a fractured right foot he carried through the end of last season before offseason surgery, according to prior reporting on Allen’s history.
Born in Firebaugh, California, and raised on a family cotton farm, Allen went from Reedley College to Wyoming before Buffalo traded up to draft him seventh overall in 2018. Now in his ninth season on a six-year, $330 million extension, the 2024 NFL MVP has thrown for 786 yards and five touchdowns through three games.
Official word on his injury status arrives with Wednesday’s practice report.
Buffalo Bills, Josh Allen Keeping Quiet About Knee Injury, Sports Doc Says