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Josh Allen, NFL’s top trash-talking QB, nominated for Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen has been selected as the team's nominee for the 2024 Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award.

Kyle Silagyi

Mark Konezny-Imagn Images
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In a development that may raise some eyebrows amongst defenders around the NFL, quarterback Josh Allen has been selected as the Buffalo Bills’ nominee for the 2024 Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award. The honor, first awarded in 2014, is given annually to “an NFL player who best demonstrates the qualities of on-field sportsmanship, including fair play, respect for the game and opponents and integrity in competition;” the NFL announced this year’s nominees on Monday afternoon.

There’s nothing wrong with Allen being nominated in a vacuum, as he’s Buffalo’s franchise centerpiece and one of the faces of the NFL. It’s just a bit humorous to see a player who, just this past summer, was voted as the NFL’s top trash-talking quarterback by his contemporaries nominated for an award that honors “on-field sportsmanship” and “respect for . . . opponents.”

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It’s not as though Allen lacks gamesmanship or respect for the opposition, but he’s demonstrably not one to shy away from using his voice to set the tone, so much so that players from around the league have oft-spoken about his penchant for trash talk. He’s gotten a bit more subtle in his mind games this season, however, this manifesting most clearly in Week 2 when he reacted to trash talk from then-Miami Dolphins linebacker David Long by simply looking at his nameplate as to ask “Who are you?”; it’s perhaps this evolution that has allowed him to get the nod for his team’s nomination.

This is the second time in Allen’s career that he’s been Buffalo’s nominee for the prestigious award, also serving as the club’s representative in 2021. Former stalwart center Mitch Morse, who was released by the Bills last spring, was Buffalo’s nominee in 2023; he went on to sign with the Jacksonville Jaguars, who selected the veteran lineman as their nominee for the 2024 Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award on Monday.

Only time will tell if Allen earns this year’s honor, but if he ultimately does, he will be the first Bills player to ever win the award.

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Kyle Silagyi
KYLE SILAGYI

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