Bills are doing exactly what they need during the preseason to help Josh Allen have a good season

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott told reporters before yesterday's final practice at St. John Fisher that the first-team, including Josh Allen, will play in the first preseason game. And yes, I know that's been reported a ton. What matters, though, is the reasoning behind the decision to put the star quarterback out there during the first preseason game .

McDermott alluded to many factors that went into his decision, all of which are crucial to helping Allen get ready to go for an important 2024 campaign.

McDermott mentions the need to ramp up

Now more than ever, with the preseason being shortened to three games, it's important for players to be able to get acclimated to game speed in a hurry. That's a large part of why McDermott is putting his starters out there.

"Play-time wise, I know that’s what you’re looking for, the ones will play. They'll play roughly a quarter, give or take," McDermott said. "It's really, to me, it's getting then ramped up and ready to go for the season. It's an important step. It’s hard to simulate the speed of the game, and so getting that in preseason is important. Going through warm ups, the energy that comes with playing a game in front of fans, and being able to manage that. So there's a lot of reasons for it. Like I said, it's just another step."

Game speed is different in the NFL, especially for rookies. Getting live action against other NFL players will help them get metaphorically, and literally, up to speed as the preseason goes on.

Sean McDermott specifically mentioned the receiver room as a reason for the starters playing

There are new faces all over the roster, but McDermott went out of his way to talk about this newly assembled wide receiver room as a key reason for putting the starters out there on Saturday.

"There's a number of new faces on our offense, also, including his receiving corp. So some of that is baked into this, but the biggest thing is, individually, we've got to get ourselves ready to go and go from there."

This is where it gets important for Allen. Putting the starters on the field is crucial to continuing to build the chemistry in live action with his new-look receiver room, notable with rookie Keon Coleman and with veteran free agent addition Curtis Samuel .

Coleman and Samuel have both looked fantastic during camp, with the rookie repeatedly Mossing Buffalo's best defenders, and Samuel showcasing his speed and versatility all over the offensive formation.

For Bills Mafia, which hopes to see Coleman emerge into a notable fixture of the offense for years to come, Saturday will serve as a first-look and, hopefully, a harbinger of good times to come.

Related: Highly-touted wide receivers lead the rookies to watch in Bears vs. Bills preseason game