The Buffalo Bills don’t play football for another seven months and change, but fans are concerned about an apparent Josh Allen injury after his appearance at new coach Joe Brady’s introductory press conference on Thursday.
Allen was seen with a walking boot and crutches as he helped welcome Brady to the head coaching role, less than two weeks after his season ended in Denver.
Allen hasn’t missed a start since his rookie season, but he was battered during the Bills’ wild-card win over the Jacksonville Jaguars and evidently came out of Buffalo’s divisional round heartbreaker hurt as well.
Here’s what you need to know about Allen’s walking boot and whether he is at risk of missing any time in 2026.
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Why was Josh Allen in a walking boot?
Allen showed up to Brady’s press conference wearing a walking boot and using crutches after undergoing surgery to address a broken bone in his foot. Allen did not miss a start after the injury.
Josh Allen is here. He’s on crutches and wearing a boot on his right foot. pic.twitter.com/y8zhjxZErU
— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) January 29, 2026
During the press conference, Bills GM Brandon Beane indicated Allen did undergo a procedure on his foot, briefly mentioning “when Josh went and got his foot fixed” without expounding on that note. Beane had said eight days earlier that Allen might need surgery on his right foot.
After the press conference, Allen revealed he underwent surgery for a broken fifth metatarsal bone in his foot. “Not an ideal situation, painful throughout the weeks,” Allen said.
Bills QB Josh Allen said he had a broken bone in his foot. “Not an ideal situation, painful throughout the weeks.” He said it was an older injury that was re-aggravated against Cleveland. Fifth metatarsal.
GM Brandon Beane said the procedure was done Monday in Birmingham.
— Joe Buscaglia (@JoeBuscaglia) January 29, 2026
Here’s what you need to know about Allen’s injury and potential timeline.
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Is Josh Allen injured?
Allen suffered a foot injury against the Cleveland Browns on Dec. 21, but he returned to the game after X-rays came back negative and didn’t miss a start the rest of the way.
As it turns out, Allen did suffered a fracture in the fifth metatarsal bone in his right foot against the Browns, which he called an aggravation of an older injury.
While Allen was able to play through the injury, Beane’s comments about a potential procedure were the first indication it was still bothering the Bills star. It was significant enough to require surgery and force Allen to spend at least part of the coming offseason rehabbing.
How long will Josh Allen be out?
Beane said on Jan. 21 that Allen wasn’t expected to miss OTAs in May if he underwent foot surgery.
With Allen recovering from surgery already, he still has more than three months to recover in time to participate in OTAs and should be available if Beane was being truthful about the timeline.
Even if Beane’s timeline isn’t exact, Allen should be fully ready to go for the start of training camp and the regular season.
