Buffalo's rookie quarterback has been sidelined since suffering a sprained elbow in the Week 6 loss at Houston. Josh Allen didn't even begin throwing until this past Friday, but it appears there is a light at the end of the tunnel with respect to his rehabilitation.
"Josh Allen is progressing well," said head coach Sean McDermott. "We're going to take it day to day at this point in terms of his availability for this week."
McDermott said he is not ready to rule out Allen for Sunday's game against the Jets, but it's clear the team is taking a very cautious approach despite the encouraging signs in the quarterback's recovery.
"He has begun to throw as part of his rehab more so than anything. He threw a couple of times over the weekend," said McDermott. "He threw again Monday morning. I thought he had a good day. He threw about 100 balls, which in the course of a practice is an average workload. He has progressed well with our medical staff and we'll continue to evaluate that moving forward."
McDermott said the upcoming bye week is a factor that they are considering, knowing if they make Allen inactive again this week, the rookie QB will essentially get another two weeks of rest and rehabilitation.
"We're aware of that. We know the value of that," McDermott said. "I'm going to depend on our doctors to give us the full evaluation as to where he is and what the risks might be in terms of him playing. We're going to make sure he's healthy before we send him out there."
Anderson, Edmunds still in concussion protocol
QB Derek Anderson and LB Tremaine Edmunds were both inactive Sunday after both suffered concussions in the Monday night game against New England. A week later both players remain in the protocol.
No word on how far along either player has come in the five step Return-to-Participation protocol. If either of them can practice come Wednesday on a non-contact basis it would reveal that they have reached step four, which allows participation in non-contact football activities.
After that all that would be needed is full medical clearance by a team doctor and independent neurological consultant for a full return to practice and play.
Coach McDermott confirmed that if Anderson clears protocol and Josh Allen isn't healthy enough to play against the Jets on Sunday, Anderson would be the starting quarterback.
"If Josh can't go then Derek would be next man up," he said.
Julian Stanford has been starting in place of Edmunds, so that would presumably continue if Edmunds cannot clear protocol this week.
Ivory day to day; Clay, Murphy week to week
The injury looked like a bad one for RB Chris Ivory late in Sunday's loss to Chicago. On a goal line carry, Ivory was met in the hole hard and dropped on his shoulder. After several minutes down on the turf being tended to by athletic trainers and team doctors, Ivory was taken to the locker room.
He also underwent further evaluation Sunday night at a local hospital.
"Chris Ivory has a shoulder sprain. He was taken to the hospital after the game because he was not feeling well," said McDermott. "We wanted him checked for some internal issues that may have been going on, but he was released and cleared last night. He'll be day to day."
Team doctors wanted to make sure there were no internal injuries beneath the shoulder injury.
Meanwhile Charles Clay, who exited Sunday's game in the first half and did not return, and Trent Murphy, who was inactive Sunday, did not have good prognoses for this weekend's game against New York.
"Charles Clay has a hamstring (injury) and Trent Murphy with his knee, both will be listed as week to week," McDermott said.
Murphy has missed the last two games after sustaining the knee injury late in the Bills Week 7 loss at Indianapolis.
