ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Josh Allen could have skipped voluntary practices without any static this week. He has missed them before, to yuk around a golf course for “The Match,” and everyone would have understood if Allen chose to focus on an even bigger match: his wedding to movie star Hailee Steinfeld, reportedly four days away.
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We must say “reportedly” because the Steinfeld-Allen wedding details have been confidential. A few months ago, chatty left tackle Dion Dawkins, the guy who’s supposed to protect Allen at all costs, let slip that May 31 was the big day. Everybody has been sheepish since. Bills coach Sean McDermott on Tuesday danced around a question about Allen possibly demonstrating any pre-wedding jitters — answering would have confirmed the event was near.
“I’m not going to get into any of that. Good try,” McDermott replied. “But he is as confident and calm, cool and collected as he always is.”
Still, there was no denying the meaning of Allen’s presence on Tuesday, to McDermott and the rest of Buffalo’s organization. Allen doesn’t truly need to be here right now. This is his eighth NFL offseason, with enviable coaching continuity; he’s entering his third season with Joe Brady as offensive coordinator. Allen is the reigning MVP and in March signed a six-year, $330 million contract extension with $250 million in guarantees. He is Buffalo’s unquestioned bellwether. There is nothing he must prove to anyone at One Bills Drive, but he was there for the voluntary workout.
“I think it says everything,” McDermott said. “He is the face of our organization. He is the leader of our team. When he’s here, like anything else as a leader, it speaks and it holds a tremendous amount of weight. Like any leader, and in particular the leader of the team, those words that he says and his actions are exponentially impactful to the whole roster, the whole team.”
In May 2022, the very offseason Buffalo promoted Ken Dorsey to be a first-time offensive coordinator, Allen skipped two voluntary practices to participate in “The Match,” a nationally televised golf event that paired him with Patrick Mahomes against Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers. Some patted Allen on the back for taking a private jet to return to practice faster, but the Bills would have been more impressed had he turned down golfing altogether.
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Bills fans have delighted in Allen’s playfulness. They’ve referred to him as their golden retriever of a quarterback. He’s a rascal, a lovable prankster, a dude just soaking up fun with a willingness to please, slinging that football and hurdling defenders. But he turned 29 last week. His contract carries the heftiest guarantees in NFL history, and since “The Match” he has finished three more seasons without a Super Bowl trip. Allen knows — now more than ever — he must be the grownup an entire franchise relies upon.
“He cares about getting better and making sure that people know that he’s here,” said Allen’s co-captain, linebacker Terrel Bernard. “If Josh is here, then why wouldn’t anybody else be here? If a guy coming off an MVP season is here and working out when it’s optional, we should all be here.”
That’s not to say Bills running back James Cook’s behavior makes him a bad teammate for being the only player who didn’t show on Tuesday, the first of three practices this week. Cook’s circumstances are apples to Allen’s oranges. The running back hasn’t attended any offseason workouts because he wants a new contract. He is entering the final season of his rookie deal and will make about only $5.3 million this year after a second straight 1,000-yard rushing campaign and an NFL-best 16 rushing touchdowns last year. In February, Cook posted “15 mill a year” on social media and confirmed in subsequent posts that the number is what he felt he deserved. Several of Cook’s teammates received handsome extensions this offseason; the list includes Bernard, cornerback Christian Benford, edge rusher Gregory Rousseau and receiver Khalil Shakir.
But a month after the Philadelphia Eagles gave Saquon Barkley a two-year, $42.1 million extension, and three days after Bills general manager Brandon Beane said the sides were too far apart and that a deal likely wouldn’t get done before the season, Cook put his Orchard Park house up for sale.
Bernard and Dawkins expressed confidence Cook is working intently on his own and that the two-time Pro Bowl running back will be ready to perform when it matters. Buffalo has three more voluntary workouts next week. Mandatory minicamp takes place June 10-12.
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“Everybody wants us to play football — how many days in a year? — 365 days in a year,” Dawkins said. “That’s what the world would want, but it’s impossible, and this is voluntary. This shouldn’t be hurting anything that’s going on, and whatever’s going on, I just hope it continues to go in a peaceful way.”
As it would be in most NFL cities, the absence of a star player in the midst of a contentious contract negotiation was supposed to be the biggest news out of One Bills Drive. Instead, the quarterback who showed up reminded everyone his presence means everything.
(Photo: Jeffrey T. Barnes / AP)
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