Josh Allen has built a resume that includes the 2024 MVP award, leading the Buffalo Bills to the postseason in each of the last seven seasons and becoming a husband and father by age 30. He is also known inside the organization as a persistent jokester whose pranks are often deemed unshareable.
The 30-year-old, now a nine-year veteran, keeps much of his playful side behind the scenes, but teammates and coaches say that humor is part of what he brings to the locker room. Bills coach Joe Brady told ESPN that Allen “is literally just one of the guys” and that his down-to-earth personality belies his status as a superstar.
Some of Allen’s stunts are elaborate. In 2019, Allen hid roughly 100 of his rookie trading cards in tight end Dawson Knox’s locker, putting cards in Knox’s wallet, cleats and even taped to the back plate of shoulder pads. Knox said he still has about four of those cards in his locker and plans to have Allen sign one personally.
Allen’s pranks also extend to younger players. During running back Ray Davis’ rookie season in 2024, Allen feigned a thrown ball while yelling “Ooooo” to draw a reaction, then shouted “Got you!” when there was no ball. Davis said the moment helped him see Allen’s lighter side and called him “just a big ‘ole kid.”
Other incidents cited by teammates include one favorite story of offensive lineman Alec Anderson, when cornerback Kaiir Elam returned to his car to find packing peanuts scattered everywhere. Those kinds of moments, teammates say, are a regular part of Allen’s approach to building chemistry.
The anecdotes were collected ahead of Buffalo’s final 2026 preseason game, when the Bills host the Pittsburgh Steelers (7 p.m. ET, NFL Network), and underscore how Allen’s humor factors into his leadership and the team’s culture.
