While he is officially listed as questionable, Bills quarterback Josh Allen's status for Sunday's game against the Vikings appears to be trending in the right direction. Allen, who is dealing with an elbow sprain sustained during last week's loss to the Jets, was a limited participant Friday after missing practice the previous two days.
Another sign that Allen is on track to play Sunday is the fact that the Bills are not elevating backup quarterback Matt Barkley from the practice squad, according to NFL Media. Besides Allen, veteran Case Keenum is currently the only other quarterback currently on the Bills' 53-man roster.
Specifically, Allen is said to be dealing with a UCL injury after telling reporters following Week 9 that he was feeling "slight pain" in his throwing elbow. While he was not able to practice, the rehab Allen has done behind the scenes now has him in a position to hit the field in Week 10.
Throughout the week, head coach Sean McDermott had characterized Allen's status as "day-to-day" or "hour-to-hour" at different points, highlighting how much this seemed to be a coin flip for the MVP candidate. McDermott also said at the beginning of the week that the organization will use "common sense" when deciding if they'll roll Allen out for this matchup, so he's clearly shown the brass enough to allow him to play and not further risk injuring himself.
Allen had reportedly expressed confidence to his teammates that he'd be able to play in this game, so this decision may not come as too much of a surprise to those within the building, despite his limited practice reps.
Of course, it will be interesting to see if Allen will be limited at all in terms of passing the ball. On top of his elbow being evaluated, related nerves were also reportedly being looked at. It is worth noting, however, that two plays after Allen allegedly suffered the injury, he threw an incomplete pass to Gabe Davis that traveled 69.3 yards in the air, which is the longest pass attempt over the past six seasons. Does that mean Allen is 100% healthy? No. Still, that nugget is at least encouraging that he won't be drastically derailed passing the football in Week 10.
Allen has the Bills sitting at 6-2 on the season and in the driver's seat not only for first place in the AFC East but for the No. 1 seed in the conference. With the Chiefs and Ravens also sitting with six wins entering Week 10, however, each matchup is important, particularly when the opponent is a 7-1 Vikings team.
Buffalo and Minnesota will square off with Allen likely under center beginning at 1 p.m. ET from Highmark Stadium.
