Allen now Bills' undisputed leader

Six of Buffalo's eight captains did not return and there were 43 newcomers when camp opened

- JOHN WAWROW

With a retooled receivers group, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen has been more intentional on the field during and after practice.

There remain many signs of Josh Allen being his familiar playful self. Whether it was opening training camp boasting of his latest Catan board game conquest, celebrating touchdowns with leaping hip-checks, and name-dropping Tiger Woods in detailing his off-season golf course encounters, the Buffalo Bills quarterback is unchanged. He opens his news conferences with a smile and a genial “How’s it going?”

And yet, beneath the “aw-shucks” exterior is a level of seriousness guiding Allen’s approach entering his seventh season. He is overseeing a team in transition. No longer surrounded by the familiar voices of experience he was accustomed to, with six of eight captains not returning to a roster that opened training camp with 43 newcomers, the 28-year-old stands alone at the top of Buffalo’s leadership chain.

“I think there’s a level of trying to always be who I am. Be myself. Be as authentic as possible. And everybody knows I’m a joyous guy that likes to have fun,” Allen said last week. “But there’s times where there doesn’t need to be joking around, you know? Time to get serious. And over the years I’ve found when that is the most critical, and when it’s the hardest to do sometimes, and is the right thing to do.”