Josh Allen doesn’t turn 27 until next month, but the Bills quarterback has learned some hard lessons in five NFL seasons. Although he has never missed a game the past four seasons, Allen knows his luck likely runs out at some point.
So, to that end, Allen admits he needs to strike a better balance between using his mobility and protecting himself.
“I’ve always had the mindset of, I’ve been a football player first and a quarterback second,” Allen said Tuesday, via Lorenzo Reyes of USA Today. “At some point that is going to have to switch. When that point is, I don’t know. I guess I’ll let my body tell me.
“It sounds crazy, but I’m getting older. I know I can’t continue to do this. I know when I’m using my youth, I feel like I can, but over the course of my career, I’m going to have to learn to adapt and change.”
In the past four years, Allen has not run fewer than 102 times in a season and had a career-high 124 rushes last season.
Bills coach Sean McDermott said earlier this offseason he’s “absolutely” nervous about Allen getting tackled on 66 percent of his runs down the field, according to Competition Committee data.
Allen knows what he has to do.
Will he do it?
“There were some times last year when I’m in the open field, I don’t need an extra 2 yards,” Allen said. “Get down, slide and live to fight another down. Again, it has worked up to this point, but I understand that there’s going to be a point in time when it’s not going to work so well.”