The Buffalo Bills may have lost AJ McCarron to an injury, and Josh Allen could now have a much more clear path to becoming the team’s Week 1 starter.
McCarron went down with an injury in Friday’s win over the Cleveland Browns, and ESPN reported that he suffered a hairline fracture to his right collarbone. While the details are not all clear, the injury means the Bills’ open competition between Nathan Peterman, McCarron, and rookie Josh Allen is down to two for the time being. All three Bills quarterbacks have been in open competition for the starting role, splitting time with the first-team offense through training camp.
That could give a major boost to Allen, the No. 7 overall pick who has shown flashes of strong play in his limited time this preseason. After coming in with the third string in the Bills first preseason game, Allen moved up to the second-string offense in Friday’s 19-17 win over Cleveland. He finished 9-of-13 passing for 60 yards and a touchdown.
After the game, Bills head coach Sean McDermott said there was a noticeable improvement in Allen.
“It looked like it was a step in the right direction,” McDermott told reporters.
If AJ McCarron’s injury were to keep him out for an extended period, it would be down to Allen and second-year quarterback Nathan Peterman to compete for the starting role. Peterman has also looked strong in the preseason, finishing Friday 8-of-10 passing for 113 yards and the game-winning touchdown.
Bills QB AJ McCarron suffered a hairline fracture to his collarbone in tonight’s game, per @viccarucci pic.twitter.com/KBHwTCwrtb
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 18, 2018
Even before this injury, McCarron may have lost a step in the three-way quarterback competition. He struggled against the Browns first-string defense on Friday, failing to gain a first down and leading the offense to gain just a net of seven yards. McCarron completed 3-of-6 passes for 12 yards in that stretch.
The Bills had signed McCarron in the offseason to a two-year, $10 million contract after he became a free agent. The longtime backup to Andy Dalton in Cincinnati garnered little interest after an initial trade to the Cleveland Browns fell through during the 2017 season, though McCarron was seen as having a strong chance to start for the Bills, as they looked for a steady hand to take the reins until Allen was ready to become the team’s starter.
McDermott said that AJ McCarron will undergo more testing when the Bills return to Buffalo. The Bills coach would not comment on the rumors that Josh Allen could become the team’s Week 1 starter.
