The Buffalo Bills announced that Josh Allen will not play in the team’s preseason finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Instead, Bills head coach Joe Brady revealed Allen will have a temporary role with the team.
Brady teased the idea of Allen calling offensive plays during the game. Yet, Allen is not convinced that this will actually happen.
“We’ll see,” Allen told reporters when asked about calling plays during an August 25, 2026, press conference. “I don’t know, he (Brady) talks a big game. He’s promised me that the last few years and it hasn’t happened yet. So, we’ll see.”
Allen laid out his potential plan if the quarterback is tabbed as the team’s temporary play-caller.
“I don’t know, I’d like to think that I’m a pretty balanced play-caller,” Allen noted. “But I feel like as a quarterback, you kinda know the plays that are the plays that you wanna get to. I feel like those would come off the call sheet very early. So, (I’d be) explosive play-caller.
“… If I do get a chance to call plays, those are (the) plays that I’d like to call and kind of go through in my head before the play actually happens.”
Bills QB Josh Allen Is Not Playing vs. Steelers
Brady revealed that the Bills are opting to rest Allen. The Bills coach admitted that Allen is pushing to call plays “all the time.”
Brady described Allen as “in a really good place” weeks before the start of the NFL season.
“Josh will not be playing Thursday, okay,” Brady remarked during his August 25, media session. “… No, I think Josh has been really good, man. I love how he’s spinning it, how he’s playing football right now.
“And he’s obviously the leader of our football team, and he’ll be right there with me (on the sideline). And hopefully I’ll let him call some plays, maybe on Thursday (against Steelers),” Brady continued.
“He wants it all the time. But, yeah, Josh is in a really good place.”
Bills Rumors: Kyle Allen Predicted to Beat Out Shane Buechele for Backup Quarterback Job
Allen may not be playing, but there continues to be a heated battle between Kyle Allen and Shane Buechele for the backup quarterback role. Both veteran quarterbacks will have one final chance to make their case in the preseason finale.
Allen appears to have the slight edge over Buechele, but time will tell what decision Brady will make at the QB2 spot. ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg projects that Allen will win the backup gig.
“Kyle Allen and Shane Buechele haven’t had the most memorable training camp so far, but they each had some highlights Saturday,” Getzenberg detailed on August 24. “Allen started the (second preseason) game, going 10-for-12 for 128 yards and one touchdown, while Buechele threw for 111 yards and a 71-yard TD pass to Ja’Mori Maclin.
“While starter Josh Allen has not missed a start since his rookie season in 2018, having a backup who is capable for security is important for a contending team. Though Kyle Allen’s camp performance hasn’t been stellar, he showed Saturday why he’s in line to again back up the 2024 NFL Most Valuable Player.”
Josh Allen Sends Clear Message to Joe Brady Amid Bills Announcement