NFL writer says Bills aren’t making Josh Allen’s ‘life easier’ during 2024 season

It’s a question that has been raised by certain segments of the Buffalo Bills fan base throughout the 2024 NFL offseason: Is the team doing enough to help quarterback Josh Allen?

The former All-Pro is one of the best signal-callers in the league, no matter what metric you want to use. Pass meters? He finished fourth in the league last year with 4,306. Total touchdowns? He was first in the NFL in 2023 with 51, and he’s been a top-three stat in each of the last four seasons. Allen, in fact, is the only player in league history to total 40-plus touchdowns in four straight seasons, and he looks poised to make it a fifth in the 2024 campaign.

At just 28 years old and in the midst of a mega-contract, Allen is in his prime, and several league pundits believe it’s not a matter of ifbut When he ultimately won the Lombardi Trophy.

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However, the 2024 NFL season may not be the one that culminates with the quarterback announcing to the world that he’s going to Disney World. The Bills, as general manager Brandon Beane described it, are a team “in transition,” moving on from solid starters like Micah Hyde, Jordan Poyer, Tre’Davious White, Mitch Morse, Gabriel Davis and Stefon Diggs during the offseason while going up. young players into more important immediate roles.

These measures, if successful and the new “core” develops as expected, would ultimately benefit the team and extend its championship window. However, growing pains cannot be ruled out in the meantime; succinctly, the team can take one step back and soon take two or three steps forward.

That sentiment is reflected in NFL.com columnist Judy Battista’s latest article identifying which teams helped their quarterbacks during the 2024 offseason, with the Bills being among those that didn’t help their passer.

“Rookie WR Keon Coleman will almost certainly start immediately; “It’s no mistake that Bills executives have talked about the second-round pick’s ability to play above the rim and make big gains to support Allen,” Battista wrote. “Is it enough? Buffalo also plans to lean on its tight ends, but with so many familiar faces gone, including on defense, this looks like a season in which the Bills are preparing for the future.

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“It’s a good thing overall, and Allen makes Buffalo a contender even if the receivers aren’t familiar to him, but it might not make Allen’s life any easier right away.”

Battista’s analysis is spot on, as Buffalo is objectively placing a lot on Allen’s shoulders by asking him to elevate a group of talented, but largely inexperienced, pass catchers. Khalil Shakir and Dalton Kincaid ran down the stretch last season and second-round rookie Keon Coleman has a ton of promise, but one would be forgiven for not being entirely solid on the immediate feasibility of the trio.

The Bills aren’t wrong, however, in asking Allen to elevate a young group: He’s one of the best players in the league, and he’s paid to elevate those around him. One might rightly be upset about not seeing Buffalo maximize its potential during the 2024 season, but if it ends up building on the foundation it’s currently laying, it could eventually reach even greater heights than those he has already experienced with Allen at the helm.