Bills name QB Anderson to start in place of Allen
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – The Buffalo Bills are turning to newly signed veteran quarterback Derek Anderson to fill in for injured rookie starter Josh Allen.
Coach Sean McDermott made the announcement Wednesday, when Buffalo returned to practice to prepare for its game at Indianapolis this weekend.
McDermott ruled Allen out with a sprained elbow on his throwing arm. He says there’s no plan at this point for the quarterback to have surgery.
The 35-year-old Anderson goes from being lured out of semiretirement last week to serve as Allen’s mentor to preparing to make his first start in nearly two seasons. Anderson attempted just eight passes in three appearances as a backup in Carolina last year. He has a 20-27 record as a starter over a 12-year NFL career.
Allen was hurt during the third quarter of a 20-13 loss at Houston last weekend.
Sources: NFL looking into Tannehill injury: Two people with knowledge of the situation say the NFL is looking into how the Miami Dolphins reported quarterback Ryan Tannehill shoulder problem on injury reports last week.
The people confirmed the NFL’s interest in the matter to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the league wasn’t commenting.
It’s common for the league to look into such situations involving a prominent player. The league is expected to contact the Dolphins to understand the details and make sure the injury report policy was followed.
Tannehill sat out Sunday’s overtime win against the Chicago Bears, and replacement Brock Osweiler threw for a career-high 380 yards. Tannehill has been ruled out of Sunday’s game against Detroit.
Coach Adam Gase has said the condition in Tannehill’s throwing shoulder worsened as last week progressed. Osweiler took “maybe a few reps” in Thursday’s practice, Gase said, but the injury report said Tannehill participated fully in the workout.
NFL officiating not a hot topic in formal owners meetings: NFL officiating was not a hot topic in the formal owners meetings that ended Wednesday.
Commissioner Roger Goodell noted that there was “talk on several occasions in the context of what the competition committee is looking to propose and implement.” But there were no formal discussions on the floor during the two-day meetings.
Officiating has been a super-tense issue this season, in part because of several rules changes or points of emphasis, particularly regarding roughing the passer and helmet use in tackling.
The meetings were far from as frenetic as a year ago, when the NFL was dealing with widespread player demonstrations during the national anthem to protest social and racial injustice. Goodell and many owners spoke in glowing terms about the product on the field, stressing the record-setting offenses and close games through six weeks.
Goodell also boasted about NFL games being one of the “few contents that are growing” in TV audiences. Ratings are up this year.
He also explained that the removal of a rule barring cross-ownership of sports franchises in different markets could be a boost to the league.