Josh Allen Won't Play for Bills Friday Night

Franchise quarterback Josh Allen won't play in the Buffalo Bills' preseason opener Friday night against the Detroit Lions, coach Sean McDermott revealed Wednesday in an announcement that surprised nobody.

With left tackle Dion Dawkins having been unable to practice since training camp began due to a COVID-19 infection and the NFL preseason having been reduced from four to three preseason games (except for the teams competing in the Hall-of-Fame Game), there simply is no need to expose Allen to full contact in an exhibition game when so many others on the roster still need to be evaluated.

Other top-of-the-roster players won't see action either.

Unlike last season, the league has mandated that roster cuts be staggered over three dates through the summer. All teams must get down to 85 players on Aug. 17, to 80 players on Aug. 24 and to 53 on Aug. 31.

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This means the Bills don't have as much time to make evaluations.

"We feel like we know a portion of our roster from the work that we've put in the last two days, in particular some of those starters," McDermott said before Wednesday's practice. "You know, we're getting them in shape and they're getting experience they need working together with Josh, his receivers.

"We feel like they're in a pretty good place. They're not ready yet, we're not ready yet. But in order for us to put this thing together the right way, we've got to make sure that we know the back half of our roster. And, you know, those opportunities are starting to narrow and so we've got to make sure that Friday night is a chance that we can do that."

Allen's unavailability will mean more time for backup Mitchell Trubisky and third-team candidates Jake Fromm and Davis Webb.

"For this [game], we felt it was important to take a good look at these young players in particular to give them their due," McDermott said, "and this is the first time that it's, you know, with the cuts, each week basically after each game, we want to make sure we've got a good handle on who we have and what we need to do going forward."

Fromm, their quarantine quarterback last year, presents perhaps the most interesting study.

"You try and simulate it out here the best you can," McDermott said, "but there's still something to be said for playing a game in front of a crowd and real game situations. So it has been a while for Jake and probably a few others as well, so it will be a good opportunity for them."

The coach also took time to praise tight end Dawson Knox for his work to improve and believes the work is showing up on the field.

"You're seeing the production, right? He's was off to a really good start, had a little bit of a hiccup one day and then came back the next day and got right back on it in terms of picking up where we left off two days prior," McDermott said, "and I think that says a lot about his mental toughness and I think he's having a really good camp.

"So I've been proud of what he's done to this point, and maybe some of that does come from being around at that tight end camp, if you will. And so confidence comes from that as well, just knowing rubbing some elbows with some guys who've been there and done it and done it at a high level."

Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.