Bills’ Josh Allen expects to be ready for OTAs after foot surgery

Orchard Park, NY — josh allenWalk up to your front row seat for the new buffalo bill Head coach Joe Brady’s Thursday press conference was not brisk.

He was on crutches and his right foot was in a walking boot after surgery Monday morning in Birmingham, Alabama. The surgery was performed on a broken bone in his foot – the fifth metatarsal. Allen, 29, said the injury stemmed from an old incident that was aggravated during the Week 16 win. cleveland browns. He did not miss any playing time due to the injury, although the reigning MVP described it as painful.

Allen had to forgo appearances in Pro Bowl games during Super Bowl week due to injury.

“It’s a little painful right now, but it wasn’t a crazy surgery,” Allen said. “Not that much time [of a recovery]. OTA, I’ll be back and [it] Nothing should be hindered.”

Bills’ season ends with overtime loss denver broncos in the divisional round of the playoffs, and the blow that followed – namely the firing of coach Sean McDermott – is still being felt by Allen. He said he learned about the firing from a call from owner Terry Pegula and then immediately called McDermott.

“I’ve got nothing but love and respect for Coach McDermott,” Allen said. “The last eight seasons, eight years of my life, as a player, as a person they’ve put me through the ups and downs, they’ve watched me kind of grow up. … We’ve had a lot of success here and I’d be lying to you if I sat here and said I felt like I had no role in it because if I played that game one more time in Denver, we probably wouldn’t be having this press conference right now. We probably wouldn’t have made any changes.” And, in all honesty, we’re probably getting ready to play another game and that’s the hard part from my perspective, but that’s the reality.”

Allen spoke to the media for the first time since the quarterback became emotional following the loss in Denver. He said he is still “sick to his stomach” about how the season ended but as the days go by, he has become more in touch with reality.

In a tearful post-game press conference, Allen said it had been a long season.

On Thursday, he said he was referring to the impact of his injuries, the emotional toll of coming back late to games and the battle that resulted in the Bills not winning the division but still having a chance in the postseason.

“I still believe we had a team that won the Super Bowl, and then, we didn’t play another game, and that’s pointing the thumb straight at me,” Allen said. “Everything moving forward is how do I clear my stuff? How can I be the best quarterback, best teammate, best leader that I can be for the Buffalo Bills moving forward? What does that look like? It’s asking questions, it’s being uncomfortable with some of those answers, and then adapting based on that and moving forward.”

That process will come from working with Brady, whom Allen has worked with since 2022, first as his quarterbacks coach, then as interim offensive coordinator, before Brady took over the job full-time in 2024.

Allen was involved in the interview process for head coach candidates, and Brady said the quarterback asked some tough questions. Allen said he took lessons from the process, including the different ways organizations can be structured, and he felt a responsibility to attend interviews for the rest of the locker room.

He said his main takeaways from the process are that the Bills are headed in the right direction and he wants to connect with Brady about what he and others can do better and why they haven’t been able to achieve the franchise’s first Super Bowl win.

“As much success as we’ve had over the last eight to nine seasons, we still haven’t gotten the main job done,” Allen said. “So then, what does that look like? Who is involved in the decisions of what that looks like? But I really believe in the direction of this organization starting at the top. And I think, again, I’m going to do whatever Joe wants of me. And I think that’s the right decision for this organization.”

Although Allen’s remaining professional goal is to win a Super Bowl, he said much of the personal satisfaction will come from spending the next few months with his wife, Hailee Steinfeld, who is pregnant with their first child.

“I’m very much looking forward to becoming a father with my wife,” he said. “It’s something I’ll take with great pride, and we’ll have to figure things out as we go, like anything else. But it’s the most important thing in my life which is being a father. And I know I’d love to be a football player and I’d love to be a quarterback for the Buffalo Bills, but I’m looking forward to it.”