16 BECK E T T.COM
WERE YOU ABLE TO KEEP ANY OF YOUR CARDS?
“I keep some in my car, actually. After games if we are wrapping
up a tailgate with my family and there are a couple kids around, I’ll
give them a card and signing it for them.”
DID YOU EVER IMAGINE YOU WOULD BE SIGNING SO
MANY FOOTBALL CARDS?
“Oh, there were so many! I got a bruise on my thumb this past
week signing all these cards.”
WHAT SHOULD BILLS FANS EXPECT FROM THE TEAM
AND OFFENSE NEXT YEAR?
“I’m not one to make predictions, but I’m super excited to get
back to work. We have a very young core coming back. Bills mafi a,
be ready! Stay with us. We still have room to grow, but we will be
trying our hardest.”
JOSH
ALLEN,
QB, BILLS
- 52.8 Completion
Percentage
- 2,074 Passing Yards
- 10 TDs
- 12 INTs
- 67.9 Passer Rating
WHAT DID YOU LEARN
ABOUT YOURSELF IN YOUR ROOKIE YEAR?
“There’s a lot to learn from this rookie season. It wasn’t perfect
by any means. I set really high expectations. Some were met and
some weren’t. But I felt like the growth that happened over the
year was fantastic. We had two veteran quarterbacks who had
been in the league for a while. I got to learn from them—to see
how they prepared and game-planned. Even small things like
how they go through walkthroughs and how they talk to guys. It
was pretty eye-opening. It was a chance to step back and look at
being a quarterback through a di erent lens.”
WHAT WAS YOUR WELCOME TO THE NFL MOMENT?
“I think my fi rst start against the Chargers. It was game two
in Bu alo, going against a guy like Phillip Rivers—a guy that I’ve
watched growing up. It was a surreal moment to go against him.
I remember watching him as a kid. He’s such a good dude. That
moment was really special.”
WHAT OTHER VETERANS DID YOU MEET THAT YOU
WERE LOOKING FORWARD TO MEETING OR LEARNING
FROM?
“We could go through my locker room. There were a lot of older
guys this year, Kyle Williams being one of them. He’s been in the
league for 13 years playing defensive line. That doesn’t hap-
pen too often. He’s such a good dude. And then obviously Tom
Brady—someone I looked up to as a kid. I got to play against him
once and also got to see the Monday night game when I had an
elbow injury. Playing against him was a cool moment for me and
my family.”
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO 2019 ROOKIES?
“Just not to expect to be perfect. You have to ride the ups and
downs. Enjoy the process. Every opportunity is an opportunity
to learn and grow. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. The
game of football is not going to change.”
WHAT HAS IT BEEN LIKE SEEING SO MANY OF YOUR
FIRST FOOTBALL CARDS RELEASE INTO THE MARKET?
“It’s really weird to me. Growing up and collecting those cards,
I remember have a signed Larry Johnson jersey card. For me to be
on these cards now and kids opening them and enjoying them
when they see me, it’s a really cool feeling. I remember what I felt
having that Larry Johnson card, and I wasn’t even a big Chiefs fan.
Just knowing it was in the hands of an NFL player and they signed
it, that meant a lot to me.”
ROOKIE WRAP-UP