Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen has been outgoing since entering the starting lineup, trying to step up and become a leader for the team while also knowing his role as a rookie. Entering his first full offseason as the young quarterback of the Bills, he’s made it a point to reach out to the new additions to the team to help them feel welcome.
“It doesn’t take a lot to do that. Just reaching out to someone, asking for the phone number, letting them know that I’m excited for them to be with us and be a part of this wonderful franchise and start trying to set that culture of where we want to be,” said Allen on Monday from the start of offseason workouts.
Head coach Sean McDermott said Allen took it upon himself to reach out to the new players. McDermott, who spoke about this first part of offseason workout being about building camaraderie and “love” between players, was obviously pleased.
“As a young leader on our football team, to me, it shows ownership,” said McDermott Monday. “It shows ownership and a lot of pride in what we are doing and his role on our football team. It’s a step in the right direction.”
Reaching out wasn’t just a nice gesture, though. Allen knows the team needs to get on the same page and with more than a dozen new starters plus another group coming in next week’s NFL Draft class, the makeup of the team will be a lot different come training camp.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do. A lot of different new minds trying to work with each other now, trying to build that camaraderie, especially using this time to develop that team chemistry,” said Allen. “There’s a lot of new guys trying to come into a new system. It’s not going to be perfect right away, and we don’t expect it to be perfect, but starting that communication now so we can get on the same page with everything.”
Allen and his new center, Mitch Morse, worked on that fellowship this weekend, heading to Bar-Bill Tavern for some wings.
“Mitch is a great dude/ I’ve spent some time being back here a little early. He was here a little early,” said Allen. “I took him to Bar-Bill [Tavern]. He’s not a big hot wing guy. He struggles with the hot sauce. Honey butter barbecue Cajun, he can do that all day, but hot is not his thing. I’ve been developing a relationship with him already. He’s a great guy.”