Allen and most Bills starters to sit vs. Browns

Taken by Buffalo with the 125th pick in the 2026 draft, Bell — a hyper-productive wideout at UConn — joins DJ Moore, Khalil Shakir, Josh Palmer, and Keon Coleman in an underwhelming receivers room. Bell, Helman said, enters the NFL with a multifaceted skill set that is highly valued among most NFL front offices. “This is probably the most reckless thing I’ll say on this show,” Helman said. “This is Ja’Marr Chase lite. He’s a freak athlete, he’s explosive, but he’s very powerful and strong. And watching him, I was just like, obviously, he’s not Ja’Marr Chase ... but he does all that type of stuff. He can take it to the house. He can just body people out of the way. He can high point the ball. If I was trying to get Ja’Marr Chase’s skillset on late day two or even into day three, I’m all the way in on this guy.” Helman wasn’t alone in his praise of Bell, who last season was second among all college wideouts in yards per route run. Ryan Fowler of NBC Sports Philadelphia said in March that Bell, 23, was close to a Round One prospect. The Bills took him late on the third day of the draft.

Allen underwent surgery to repair a broken bone in his foot, but two months post-op, the Bills’ QB1 appears to be in good shape. The Bills went out and traded for WR DJ Moore this offseason to give Allen a much-needed weapon in the passing game, and with Allen trending in the right direction, he should have plenty of time to build with Moore before training camp ramps up earlier this summer. Allen has finished as the QB1 in fantasy points per game in four of his last six seasons and projects as a high-end QB1 again this upcoming season.

Per ESPN’s Field Yates, the move creates $40 million in cap space. As is the case with most elite quarterbacks, Allen’s contract being restructured has become an annual affair for Buffalo. This is essentially free cap space for the Bills. With the deadline to get cap compliant coming later today, Buffalo now has plenty of wiggle room to sign free agents or extend other players. Allen is under contract through the 2030 season.

Allen revealed that he aggravated an “older injury” against the Browns in Week 16. It was a fracture in his fifth metatarsal. To correct the issue, doctors “went in, took it out and cleaned it up.” Yuck. Allen adds that he would “figure out” a way to play if the Bills had a game this week, and he will be ready to participate in organized team activities in May.

Bills GM Brandon Beane told reporters last week that Allen might undergo offseason foot surgery. He suffered the foot injury in Week 16 but played through it, seemingly without issue, through the team’s playoff run. Allen, however, is no stranger to gritting his teeth through injuries, so it may have been a bigger deal than his play let on. Either way, the extra medical equipment he was sporting today suggests an offseason surgery is definitely on the table.

With the Bills entering their first head-coaching search of the Josh Allen era, the team will let its MVP quarterback have more than his share of say on who leads the team into the future. Allen and the Bills again came up short in their quest for their first Super Bowl in last week’s loss to the Broncos, spurring the change at head coach that took many on the team by surprise. Buffalo has already begun its head coaching search, but has interviews with multiple outside candidates starting on Friday and lasting over the weekend.

Though Beane didn’t offer a timeline for when Allen might undergo surgery to repair a foot injury he sustained in Week 16 against the Browns, he was confident would not affect Allen’s availability for organized team activities in the offseason. Allen gutted it out through the foot injury — among others — over the season’s final month, logging 23 rushing attempts over the team’s two postseason games despite the injury. Barring complications, Allen should be ready to go this spring as he prepares for his age-30 season.

Pegula during a press conference Wednesday absolved general manager Brandon Beane of responsibility for the sorry state of the team’s wideout room. Referring to the drafting of Coleman in 2024, Pegula said Beane “has taken, for some reason, heat about it, and I’m here to say a word about it.” Pegula said former head coach Sean McDermott’s wide receivers coaches advocated for taking Coleman, who has been an unmitigated bust over the past two seasons. Pegula added that he fired McDermott — among the league’s most successful coaches over the past decade — based on the Bills’ Divisional Round loss to the Broncos.

Daboll is reportedly prioritizing the Buffalo job after serving as the team’s offensive coordinator from 2018 to 2021. If the Bills pass him over, Russini said Daboll will likely join Robert Saleh as Tennessee’s offensive coordinator. Daboll would be tasked with helping Cam Ward become an NFL-viable starter quarterback after a disastrous rookie season in which he threw 15 touchdowns and seven picks over 17 games. Ward was among the most inaccurate passers in the league.

Daboll served as Buffalo’s offensive coordinator from 2018 to 2021 before landing the Giants head coaching job. Daboll’s Bills offense was top-five in both yards and points in both 2020 and 2021 as the team shifted to a more pass-first offense with Josh Allen under center. Daboll’s success with Allen could land him the top job in the coming days and weeks as the Bills interview potential replacements for Sean McDermott. That includes 30-year-old Jacksonville OC Grant Udinski and Colts DC Lou Anarumo.