NFL Rumors: Bills' Josh Allen to Avoid Surgery for Elbow Injury, 'On Track' for 2023

Despite playing the second half of this season with a sprained UCL, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen isn't expected to need surgery.

Per NFL.com's Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport, doctors are "confident" Allen is progressing well from the injury and is "on track" to be fully healthy for the 2023 season.

Allen suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of Buffalo's Week 9 loss to the New York Jets. He finished the game and threw an incomplete pass that traveled 69.3 yards on the final play, the farthest pass by a quarterback in six seasons.

Rapoport reported leading up to the Bills' next game against the Minnesota Vikings that the belief within the organization was Allen would be able to manage the injury moving forward.

During a December appearance on The Pat McAfee Show (h/t Ryan O'Halloran of the Buffalo News), Allen revealed doctors initially weren't "too optimistic" about him playing for anywhere between two to four weeks.

In the same interview, Allen said he received a platelet-rich plasma injection to help his recovery.

Allen was able to play through it the rest of the season. He didn't miss a start and ranked 13th in the NFL with 35.5 pass attempts per game. The two-time Pro Bowler completed 63.3 percent of his attempts for 4,283 yards and 35 touchdowns.

His performance was more erratic in the second half of the season and playoffs after the injury. He committed 13 turnovers (nine interceptions, four fumbles) in the final 10 games, including the postseason.

Allen had five games completing fewer than 60 percent of his attempts after Week 9. He had three such games through the first nine weeks.

The Bills' season came to an end with a 27-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC divisional round. Allen didn't throw a touchdown in that game for the first time since the Jets' loss.

Allen at full strength this season played at an MVP level and had the Bills looking like a Super Bowl contender. Getting him back to 100 percent will go a long way toward determining how far they can go in 2023.