ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Bills rookie Josh Allen is out indefinitely after hurting his right throwing arm and leaving Buffalo in a quandary at quarterback.
Without providing many details, coach Sean McDermott would only list Allen as being "week to week" on Monday, a day after Allen hurt his elbow in the third quarter of a 20-13 loss at Houston. McDermott said he will know more about the nature of Allen’s injury after meeting with team doctors.
The injury to the first-round draft pick leaves McDermott having to decide between having turnover-prone backup Nathan Peterman or newly signed 12-year veteran Derek Anderson start in Buffalo’s game at Indianapolis on Sunday. McDermott wouldn’t provide a hint as to who would start in Allen’s place.
Peterman threw two interceptions, with his first returned for the deciding touchdown with 1:23 left against the Texans.
Including a brief playoff appearance, the second-year player has been intercepted on 10 of his 82 career attempts. And he is best remembered for throwing five interceptions in the first half of a 54-24 loss at the Los Angeles Chargers last season.
Anderson was signed only a week ago after spending the entire off-season away from football. The 35-year-old attempted only eight passes in three appearances with Carolina last season, and hasn’t started a game in nearly two years.
Allen was hurt while being struck from both sides by Whitney Mercilus and Jadeveon Clowney. Mercilus struck Allen’s throwing arm just after the quarterback released the ball for a 39-yard completion to Kelvin Benjamin.
Allen bent down and grabbed his arm in pain and stayed in for one more play — an incompletion to Zay Jones — before going down to one knee. He was then spotted yelling out in pain while trainers examined his elbow along the sideline.
The Bills (2-4) traded up five spots to select Allen with the No. 7 pick — the highest position in the draft order Buffalo has ever chosen a quarterback. McDermott took a cautious approach this off-season in wanting the strong-armed, yet occasionally erratic Allen time to develop before naming him the starter.
He was left with little choice but to start the 23-year-old after Peterman faltered badly in the first half of a season-opening 47-3 loss at Baltimore. Allen has a 2-3 record as a starter, but has struggled with consistency in overseeing an offence that lacks proven receivers and features a patchwork line.
Allen’s production has dropped considerably since going 18 of 33 for 245 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions in his first start, a 31-20 loss to the Chargers in Week 2. Since then, he’s gone a combined 51 of 91 for 513 yards with a touchdown passing, three rushing with three interceptions and a lost fumble.
As an offence, the Bills have yet to top 300 yards this season, and have scored just 26 points in their past 14 quarters, dating to the start of the second half of a 27-6 win at Minnesota.
The Bills lured Anderson out of semiretirement last week to serve as an additional mentor for Allen. Buffalo lacked an experienced backup after trading off-season free-agent addition AJ McCarron to Oakland on Sept. 1.
Anderson has a 20-27 record, including a 2-2 mark as a starter in spending the past seven seasons as Cam Newton’s backup in Carolina.
He was inactive on Sunday after taking part in a very limited role in practice last week.
Anderson acknowledged last week that he’s open to playing, though didn’t know how long it would take to be familiar with the playbook and get into shape.
"Don’t get me wrong, I’m still a competitor," Anderson said. "I’m going to push them once my old body starts feeling right."
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