That’s when coach Sean McDermott escorted the first-round pick to the sideline and introduced him to Jim Kelly in what became a meeting of the team’s hopeful future and legendary past.
”I’m still shaking from meeting him Joe Thomas Jersey ,” Allen said.
Though Allen grew up in central California and played college at Wyoming, the 21-year-old is very aware of who Kelly is and what he means to Buffalo.
”It’s all on the wall,” Allen said, pointing the four AFC Championship banners the Kelly-led teams won from 1990-’93.
Allen also knows how tough Kelly is in his ongoing battle with cancer.
”I can’t say anything else but he’s a special man. He’s been through a lot,” he said. ”And to be in the spirits that he is and to come out here and show support for the Buffalo Bills, that just shows to me how much he means to Buffalo and Buffalo means to him. It’s awesome.”
Kelly made a surprise visit for the start of two-day rookie minicamp some six weeks after his latest operation to have cancer removed from his jaw.
Kelly walked with a cane and had difficulty speaking. He raised his right thumb while he and Allen posed for pictures. Said Kelly: ”It’s the best thing I can do: Thumbs up.”
The Bills are pinning their hopes on Allen to fill what’s been their most unsettled position since Kelly retired following the 1996 season.
Buffalo traded up five spots in the draft order to select him with the No. 7 pick two weeks ago. Allen became just the fourth quarterback selected by Buffalo in the first round, and first chosen in the top 10 of the draft order.
He joins a team once again shuffling starters after Tyrod Taylor was traded to Cleveland in March despite helping Buffalo to a 9-7 finish and end a 17-year playoff drought.
At 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, Allen is a raw, but strong-armed and athletic quarterback. He was a two-year starter at Wyoming, where he completed 365 of 649 for 5,066 yards with 44 touchdowns and 21 interceptions.
Allen was knocked for his relatively low completion percentage of 56.2 and mechanics, something he spent working on this offseason.
McDermott isn’t providing any guarantees in saying Allen will compete for the starting job with offseason free-agent addition A.J. McCarron and second-year player Nathan Peterman.
”We’ve got a plan in place for all of our players Kyle Long Jersey , and in this case Josh, in terms of bringing them along at the right pace,” McDermott said.
Allen threw a few wobbly or high passes to his right. He was far more accurate with passes to his left and over the middle. Allen showed off his strong arm, by completing several deep passes, including one to rookie seventh-round pick Austin Proehl.
He was also intercepted once during one-on-one drills. His hard, high pass over the middle slipped through receiver William Scott’s hands and to a defensive back.
”I felt like I’ve made a lot of strides,” Allen said. ”I felt like I put the ball where it needed to be most of the time. Obviously, there’s some throws that I would like back. But as we progress through this rookie minicamp and through the rookie developmental period, I plan to improve every day.”
He was pleased in learning how Kelly was overheard praising a few of his throws.
Allen said Kelly first contacted him by text in welcoming him to Buffalo the day after being drafted.
”Hopefully, in the near future we can keep that relationship going,” Allen said. ”Any rookie that can develop a mentorship with a former quarterback like Jim Kelly, it’s going to be huge.”
NOTES: The Bills signed fourth-round pick Tashaun Gipson Jersey , Weber State cornerback Taron Johnson. That leaves their top-three selections unsigned, including third-round pick, Stanford defensive tackle Harrison Phillips. … The Bills also signed 12 undrafted free agents including Arizona guard Gerhard De Beer, who is from South Africa. He was a Pac-12 discuss throwing champion and made the switch to football. … Also signed were defensive linemen Mat Boesen (TCU) and Mike Love (South Florida), linebacker Corey Thompson (LSU), cornerbacks Ryan Carter (Clemson) and Levi Wallace (Alabama), running back Keith Ford (Texas A and M), receivers Robert Foster (Alabama) and Cam Phillips (Virginia Tech), offensive linemen Ike Boettger (Iowa) and Mo Porter (Baylor), and Penn State kicker Tyler Davis.
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Coach Dave Joerger strongly believes Sacramento’s commitment to youth this season will pay off down the line in helping develop the Kings into a playoff contender.
How soon that happens remains an open question.
”It can be frustrating because we’re a society that wants a quick change and we want it right now,” Joerger said after the final game of his second season in Sacramento. ”It just takes time together to get that chemistry. We all want it to happen as fast as possible and we’re doing everything we can for that.”
The Kings took a step back in the standings this season, winning five fewer games on the way to a 27-55 record that left them out of the playoffs for the 12th straight season Joe Mixon Jersey , the longest active drought in the NBA.
But with most of Sacramento’s key players age 25 or younger, there might be some reason for optimism for a franchise that seems to be in perpetual rebuilding mode.
”They’ve seen enough to know how to react now,” veteran Vince Carter said. ”They have a legitimate chance to contend. The challenge now is learning how to sustain leads. That’s the next part.”
The Kings are looking to build a pair of rookie guards in last year’s first-round pick De’Aaron Fox and European import Bogdan Bogdanovic. Each showed good flashes at times throughout the season and improved as they got more responsibility when Joerger turned things over to the youth movement.
”Just be ready to take on a load,” Fox said about his next step. ”I came off the bench, was able to feel out games and it just kind of molded me into a starting point guard. Next year, I just have to be more efficient, just elevate my game.”
Guards Buddy Hield and Frank Mason III, swingman Justin Jackson and big men Willie Cauley-Stein and Skal Labissiere also got significant playing time as the Kings try to finding building blocks to turn the franchise around.
Sacramento went 9-12 after the start of March in what the team hopes is a good sign for the future.
Here are some other takeaways from the season and the upcoming offseason:
BIG DRAFT
Sacramento enters the draft with the sixth-best chance at winning the top pick. This will be a key draft for the Kings, who don’t have a first-round pick in 2019 because of previous deals. With top free agents hesitant to sign with a struggling franchise, Sacramento needs to find impact players in the draft in order to rebuild.
WAITING FOR GILES
The Kings have high hopes for forward Harry Giles, who sat out his rookie season rehabbing a knee injury. Sacramento acquired Giles in a draft day deal but held him out of games all year in order to strengthen his knee. Giles was one of the top recruits coming out of high school before injuring his knee as a senior. He played one year at Duke, starting just six games Josh Ferguson Jersey , but has impressed Kings officials in workouts this season.
PROTESTS
The most notable part of another losing season in Sacramento surrounded the protests of a police shooting and the Kings’ reaction to it. Protesters kept most fans from entering the arena for two games following the March 18 fatal shooting by police of Stephon Clark, a 22-year-old unarmed black man. Kings players and owners supported the protesters and partnered with local groups to create a multiyear partnership that supports education, workforce preparation and economic development efforts in the community.
ONE MORE YEAR
Carter plans to come back for one more season, whether it’s in Sacramento or somewhere else. Carter, who turns 42 next January, is eligible to become a free agent this summer and wants to play a 21st season in the NBA. Carter averaged 5.4 points and 2.6 rebounds per game in his one season with the Kings.
”Every day I want to be here, I want to play this game,” Carter said. ”I enjoy this league and I enjoy this game so much. I want to be able to play and be able to compete with younger guys.”
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