ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Buffalo Bills quarterback AJ McCarron returned to practice Wednesday on a limited basis after injuring his right shoulder in last Friday’s preseason game against the Cleveland Browns.
McCarron did not break his collarbone in the game, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The Buffalo News previously reported McCarron sustained a hairline fracture of his collarbone.
“He does have some shoulder soreness,” coach Sean McDermott said Wednesday. “We’ll see how he progresses through the day.”
The Bills announced Tuesday that rookie quarterback Josh Allen will start Sunday’s preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
“It’s still sticking, with the most part, with our plan and our evaluation to this point,” McDermott said. “Announcing it [on Tuesday was due to] him really wanting him to go through a routine of what it would be like in a normal regular season week of dealing with the potential distractions and all that goes with the quarterback position, and learning how to balance that.
“AJ has been through it before, naturally. Nate [Peterman] has been through it as well. And so this was an opportunity as well for Josh to go through it for his first time.”
Peterman started the Bills’ first preseason game and McCarron started their second preseason game. McDermott reiterated Wednesday that the competition for the starting job for Week 1 remains open.
McDermott said starting Allen this Sunday is “all part of the plan, part of the process in terms of the stage of his development.” Asked if Allen has a chance to win the starting job given his performance Sunday, McDermott said, “We’re just going to take it one game at a time right now.”
McDermott declined to say Wednesday whether Peterman would also receive time with the first-team offense in Sunday’s game because he did not want to reveal strategy.
McDermott said Sunday that he and general manager Brandon Beane discussed the possibility of signing another quarterback given the uncertainty at the time around McCarron’s injury. However, with McCarron returning to practice, McDermott said Wednesday that the team is not currently looking to add another quarterback.