EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Joe Brady said that he is planning on everyone that is healthy playing in Saturday's preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers. That includes quarterback Josh Allen."Things can change after today's practice, but right now, everybody that's healthy is gonna be playing out there on Saturday," Brady said Thursday.Saturday will mark the first game ever played at the team's new Highmark Stadium. The team held its first football activities in the venue last Saturday night with the team's "Return of the Blue & Red" practice.Brady, who did not disclose how much the starters would play, said the decision to have them play comes from a variety of variables, including wanting to see tackling and finishing plays. Allen also said he wants to make it as game-like as possible to go through all the processes at the new stadium before the Bills play the team's first regular season game there on Sept. 17 vs. the Detroit Lions.The newness is part of Brady's thinking as well."It's our first opportunity for us to come together and show an example of what the Buffalo Bills are about," Brady said. "And so, I think that that's important."This marks a continued changed approach to the preseason for Allen, who did not play in the preseason at all under former head coach Sean McDermott last season. It was the first year he did not play a preseason snap."I'd love to play," Allen said after practice. "I couldn't tell you how long or how many drives or what's the case there, but to get out there and get a good feeling and a good sense of the game and get a good sense of the guys around me, I feel like that's important to do."In terms of keeping the quarterback healthy, Brady said that while he hopes the nine-year veteran is mindful of the situation, he wants him to "be competitive and be Josh Allen.""If you kind of just dip your toe in, that's when I think bad happens," Brady said. "So, if we're out there going, we're going."
