Aug 17, 2018; Cleveland, OH, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) warms up before the game between the Cleveland Browns and the Buffalo Bills at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
NFLBy Matt Clapp on

The Buffalo Bills already weren’t expected to be a good football team in 2018, and now they’ve lost their starting quarterback to injury.

A.J. McCarron reportedly suffered a hairline fracture in his collarbone during Buffalo’s preseason game against the Cleveland Browns on Friday night after taking a hit from Myles Garrett.

Via BuffaloNews.Com:

Buffalo Bills quarterback AJ McCarron suffered a hairline fracture in his collarbone in Friday night’s preseason game against the Cleveland Browns, The Buffalo News has learned.

A source close to McCarron confirmed the injury.

McCarron is likely looking at a 6-10 week absence, which would obviously prevent him from playing the Bills’ Week 1 game at the Baltimore Ravens on Sept. 9. That leaves Nathan Peterman and first-round pick Josh Allen as the options to start at quarterback.

Peterman was absolutely brutal as a rookie in 2017, throwing two touchdowns, five interceptions, and putting together a passer rating of 38.4.

And then there’s Allen, the highly talented seventh overall pick in the 2018 draft. Allen wowed evaluators leading up to the draft, due to his size, ridiculous arm talent, and athleticism. However, his production left plenty to be desired in college, even with a bad supporting cast at Wyoming. And his accuracy was frankly awful.

But all of the *talent* is there for Allen to put it together, and that’s been put on display through two preseason games.

Allen has completed 18 of 32 passes for 176 yards, two touchdowns, and a 92.7 passer rating. On Friday night, he made a tremendous play to avoid pressure in the pocket and throw a touchdown pass:

The September part of the Bills’ schedule is very difficult: at Ravens, vs Chargers, at Vikings, and at Packers.

For a raw rookie quarterback, that could be rough. Very rough. But in what’s viewed as a rebuilding season, being able to get Allen’s development accelerated immediately may not be the worst thing. And his talent alone likely gives the Bills a better chance than Peterman to win right now anyway.

UPDATE: Several days later, ESPN’s Adam Schefter has reported that A.J. McCarron *did not* break his collarbone.

And he’ll be back at practice soon.

About Matt Clapp

Matt is an editor at The Comeback. He attended Colorado State University, wishes he was Saved by the Bell's Zack Morris, and idolizes Larry David. And loves pizza and dogs because obviously.

He can be followed on Twitter at @Matt2Clapp (also @TheBlogfines for Cubs/MLB tweets and @DaBearNecess for Bears/NFL tweets), and can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.

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