QB Josh Allen, Bills' starters will play in preseason opener vs. Bears

The Buffalo Bills' starters will play in the team's 2024 preseason opener against the Chicago Bears.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen goes through a unique handshake with every player in his offensive unit, including running back James Cook, during their pre practice ritual. / Shawn Dowd/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK

Fans attending this weekend’s preseason clash between the Buffalo Bills and Chicago Bears at Highmark Stadium will have the opportunity to catch an (albeit brief) glimpse of Buffalo’s starters. The first team will see roughly a quarter’s worth of action, per head coach Sean McDermott.

“Play-time wise, I know that’s what you’re looking for, the ones will play,” McDermott told reporters ahead of Thursday’s training camp practice. “They’ll play roughly a quarter, give or take. It’s really, to me, it’s getting them ramped up and ready to go for the season. 

“It’s an important step, hard to simulate the speed of the game, and so getting that in preseason is important. Going through warmups and the energy that comes with playing a game in front of fans and being able to manage that, so there’s a lot of reasons for it.”

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McDermott then specified that this does include quarterback Josh Allen, whose general preseason reps have dwindled in recent years as he’s established himself as not only a league veteran, but as one of its better overall players. The sideline boss has not yet determined the number of reps Allen will see throughout the three-game ramp-up stretch.

“We’ll just take it one week at a time,” McDermott said. “There’s a number of new faces on our offense, also, including his receiving corps. Some of that is baked into this, but the biggest thing is individually, we’ve got to get ourselves ready to go and go from there.”

Allen spoke about playing in this year’s preseason during a Wednesday press conference, admitting that he wasn’t sure if he’d be suiting up while also stating that “reps are always helpful.”

Bills quarterback Josh Allen takes the snap from center Connor McGovern during drills. / Shawn Dowd/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK

And he’ll get (at least a few) reps with his retooled offense this Saturday, snaps that will serve as the signal-caller's first live game action with his revamped receiving corps. Buffalo parted ways with perennial Pro Bowler Stefon Diggs and complementary weapon Gabriel Davis in the offseason, hoping to spread their vacated production amongst third-year contributor Khalil Shakir, free agent signee Curtis Samuel, and rookie Keon Coleman; Allen has displayed a solid rapport with all three of these pass-catchers throughout camp, and he’ll have the opportunity to showcase these connections in front of the Buffalo faithful this weekend.

This Saturday’s preseason bout kicks off at 1:00 p.m.

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