Despite his ulnar collateral ligament injury, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen will remain active Sunday and is believed to start against the Minnesota Vikings, sources told ESPN Saturday. .
However, Bills officials have been tight-lipped all week, refusing to reveal who the starters are and wanting to keep the NFL active/inactive roster secret until Sunday at 11:30 a.m. ET. Bills officials have spent the past week listening to their doctors and other arm experts, sources said, and the team is confident that Allen will not increase the risk of his injury worsening if he plays against the Vikings on Sunday.
With that in mind, sources say Allen will start on Sunday, but the team declined to confirm any final decision, insisting that they are “counting the clock” and don’t want to give the Vikings any competitive advantage in naming the starting quarterback.
Allen was limited in practice on Friday when he wore a practice jersey with no sleeve on his right arm. If he starts, he will take part in only one day of practice after missing Wednesday and Thursday.
“We’re really just looking at how he’s going to progress through the day on an hour-by-hour basis,” coach Sean McDermott said Friday. “If he passes these different tests, medically, Make sure he can check the boxes so we can see if we can get through the day here.”
Sources told ESPN’s Chris Mortenson earlier this week that Allen is dealing with damage to the ulnar collateral ligament and related nerves in his right elbow. It happened in Sunday’s final loss to the New York Jets. He hasn’t missed a game since 2018, when he missed four games with a right elbow injury.
ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg contributed to this report.