Just a few minutes before new Buffalo Bills head coach Joe Brady took centerstage for his introductory news conference, quarterback Josh Allen did his best not to attract attention as he made a beeline for the front row of seating.
As inconspicuous as a 6-foot-5 quarterback on crutches and a walking boot on his right foot could be, at least, in front of awaiting media members.
Allen, who is always quick to brush aside injuries during the season with the mentality of playing through everything, admitted something was wrong enough to have a procedure done on his right foot.
“I had a little broken bone in there. So they went and took it out and cleaned it up,” Allen revealed Thursday. “Obviously, not (an) ideal situation, painful throughout the weeks. But, game day, different story, just being able to put that to the side and just go out there and play football.”
Allen, who had been recruited by Bills owner Terry Pegula and general manager Brandon Beane to be a part of the head coach interview process, left to go to Birmingham, Ala., to have the procedure done on Monday. The broken bone in his foot was his fifth metatarsal, described by Beane as being “on the outer part of his foot.”
The quarterback said it was an older injury that was re-aggravated during the Bills’ narrow Week 16 victory against the Cleveland Browns. Even with the procedure, Allen made it abundantly clear that the foot wouldn’t preclude him from playing.
“I’m not even lying, if we had to play a game this week, I would figure it out to play,” Allen said. “It’s a little painful right now, but it wasn’t a crazy surgery.”
Allen expects to be back for the start of OTAs in May, and he doesn’t expect the foot injury to hinder anything when those workouts arrive.
Besides the surgery news, it was also the first time Allen met with reporters since his emotional news conference following the team’s playoff exit in Denver. Allen, who had tears in his eyes without looking at anyone in the room, mentioned that it would take a long time for him to get over the loss. Since that time, the Bills have fired Sean McDermott, gone through their head coaching process, and hired Brady.
Allen said he’s still processing where it all went wrong.
Josh Allen shouldered some of the blame for Sean McDermott getting fired after the Bills’ playoff loss. (Tina MacIntyre-Yee / Imagn Images)
“I’m still trying to take it all in,” Allen said. “Obviously, this last week and a half has been an absolute whirlwind because of the interviews and having the surgery and expecting a baby. There’s just so many elements that come into play, but just trying to take it one day at a time. But I’d be lying to you if I didn’t say I’m still sick to my stomach about how the season ended.
“We live in reality, and it is what it is now, and we have to come to grips with that. And I feel like as days go by, I become more in touch with reality, just trying to do whatever it takes to one, move forward, but two, to understand how to get past what we’re trying to get past. And obviously, we want to win a Super Bowl here. That’s my main goal in everything that I do. Everything I’ve done, really, but everything that I continue to do moving forward is going to be tailored around, ‘What can I do to help this team win the Super Bowl?’”
Allen and his wife, actress Hailee Steinfeld, are expecting a child this offseason, which is helping the quarterback through the pain of the loss. But in a very candid moment, Allen took time to reflect on McDermott’s dismissal. McDermott was the only head coach he’s had in the NFL.
“Very, very emotional. I’m sitting in my house. I wake up to a call from Mr. Pegula telling me what had transpired. And I called Coach McDermott immediately,” Allen said. “I’ve got nothing but love and respect for Coach McDermott. The last eight seasons, eight years of my life, he’s been through the ups and downs of me as a player, as a person. He’s seen me grow up in a sense.”
Allen, as he so often does after losses, shouldered the blame for McDermott’s removal from the organization.
“I feel like I had a part in it,” Allen said. “If I make one more play that game in Denver, we’re probably not having this press conference right now. We’re probably not making a change. And in all honesty, we’re probably getting ready to play another game. That’s the hard part to take in from my perspective. But that’s reality, it is what it is now. And I am very, again, very fortunate and thankful for Coach McDermott, everything that he’s done and the trajectory that he set here for our players.”
As Allen continued to try to exist in the reality of the situation, the attention turned to Brady and what was ahead. Allen has worked with Brady over the last four seasons in Buffalo, which will help with familiarity in 2026 and beyond. Considering the Bills involved Allen in the head coach interviews, his buy-in was of utmost importance to the organization.
There had been some questions, given the last week and a half, about Allen’s feelings on the decisions the team made and where the Bills were heading after his first eight years ended before the Super Bowl.
Allen left no room for interpretation as to how committed he is to the Bills.
“I truly believe in the direction of this organization, starting from the top,” Allen said. “What I saw was an owner and Mr. Pegula and a family that is doing everything that they can to help this team win a Lombardi trophy and bring, bring a trophy here to Western New York. I see a GM that is as motivated as ever to do the same. And now I see a head coach that will relay this message to the team and to myself. To get everybody together and pulling in one singular direction. And I think that’s what’s needed, as much success as we’ve had over the last eight to nine seasons, we still haven’t been able to get the main job done.”
Alignment and collaboration were the two major talking points of Brady’s introductory news conference, and Allen put himself firmly on board.
“I think that, whatever Joe needs from me, I’m gonna do,” Allen said. “And I think that it’s the right decision for this organization.”