Josh Allen has a lot of expectations on his shoulders for 2022. Tight end Dawson Knox has Allen’s signature on his neck.
The MVP-candidate quarterback spent the end of his second day of training camp signing autographs for fans and, whenever possible, messing with his teammates. The man who led the Buffalo Bills back to prominence after years of wandering through pro football’s desert — including back-to-back AFC East titles! — showed fans in Rochester that he isn’t letting the burden of a three-peat weigh too heavily on his mind in July.
So while his fellow Bills were signing autographs for fans, Allen decided to sign his fellow Bills. He started with safety Jordan Poyer, who demurred:
Can't believe @J_Poyer21 didn't want to be autographed by @JoshAllenQB. 😂#BillsCamp | #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/f8fy056qce
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) July 25, 2022
But Allen, showcasing the persistence of a champion, didn’t give up. His next target, Knox, left practice with a neck he can now proudly post on eBay.
Knox was able to happily joke away his Sharpie-stained body.
“I could probably sell my neck for a lot now,” he told Buffalo News beat reporter Katherine Fitzgerald at his post-practice press conference.
Knox has reason to play along. He and Allen leveled up their connection in 2021. The third-year tight end set career highs in catches, receiving yards and touchdowns as Buffalo fell an overtime coin toss short of making it to a second-straight AFC title game. If he can build from that solid campaign and help lead the Bills to their first Super Bowl since 1993, Allen may have to make signing his teammate’s necks an annual training camp tradition.
