Josh Allen says he plans to 'pick brains' of Steelers defenders during joint practice

The last time the Steelers faced the Bills, it was the playoffs in snowy, frigid Buffalo. But the two teams meet again later this week in a joint practice, followed by a preseason game.

It’ll be the first time the Bills have practiced against another team since preseason 2019. And Josh Allen, Buffalo’s quarterback, is looking forward to it all.

“It’s different players that you’re going against,” Allen told reporters this week. “We know these guys. We’ve played them quite a few times the last few years. They’ve got one of the greatest coaches of all time, and some really special players on defense. So that’s good to go up and practice against them and kind of gauge and see where you’re at.”

Allen added that he’s hoping to learn something from certain Steelers defenders.

“I think getting with some of the guys on their defense and just picking their brains,” the Bills quarterback said “They got some guys on their side that I feel like I’m familiar with, that I can talk to and just kind of pick their brain. So I think that’s a fun part about it.”

The two teams will have a joint practice Thursday at Acrisure Stadium. Then the two teams will meet Saturday for their preseason game.

Expect for Russell Wilson to see his first action as a Steelers quarterback. He strained a calf muscle last month, the day before training camp started. Coach Mike Tomlin worked Wilson back slowly. After all, the quarterback is 35 and calf strains can be as tricky as hamstring.

Steelers lose first-round pick for 2 weeks

Pittsburgh’s first-round pick, Troy Fautanu, will be watching the joint practices from the sidelines. He hurt his knee last Friday in the preseason opener against the Texans. The team expects Fautanu to miss about two weeks because of the injury. The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reported that the Steelers had decided to stick Fautanu in the starting lineup at right tackle. But the team put those plans on hold until Fautanu’s knee heals.

Fautanu was a former star ar Washington where he helped protect Michael Penix Jr, the eighth pick of April’s draft. Fautanu followed a dozen slots later.

Bills sign former Pittsburgh receiver just in time for joint practices

Meanwhile, a former Steelers receiver will be facing some of his old teammates. The Bills signed Deon Cain this week. Cain was with the Steelers in 2019 and 2020, where he primarily spent time on the practice squad.

He got to the NFL as a sixth-round pick out of Clemson in 2018. Cain most recently spent time in the UFL, the new spring football league, where he played for the Birmingham Stallions. The Stallions won the inaugural UFL championship.