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McDermott spoke ahead of Friday鈥檚 joint practice with the Bears in Chicago, saying he wanted the practice to further evaluate.

鈥淣o, and then just as it relates to (Friday) and then play time overall, I would just tell you, I鈥檝e gotta get through 鈥� we鈥檝e gotta get through 鈥� this practice, go home, or go back to the hotel 鈥� go through the injury report and then reset the table for the game on Sunday night,鈥� McDermott said.

For Allen, McDermott wants the quarterback to stay safe during the preseason. The coach even joked about keeping him in a bubble if he could. McDermott would 鈥渓ove to鈥� give Allen some preseason time, if he could guarantee the franchise quarterback wouldn鈥檛 get hurt.

鈥淚n Josh鈥檚 case, (we鈥檙e) really using practice to see where he鈥檚 at and how he feels,鈥� McDermott said. 鈥淎nd I鈥檓 giving him some ownership as well, which I think is important. He knows by now what he needs to be ready.鈥�

McDermott acknowledged that Allen still needs time with 鈥渉ealthy receivers鈥� as the Bills have dealt with a number of injuries in the wide receiver room.

McDermott said he wasn鈥檛 necessarily evaluating on a unit-by-unit basis, but rather on an individual level.

鈥淲e鈥檙e probably going to have a few young players who maybe play well today and look good, but they need more time, they need more reps, more experience,鈥� McDermott said. 鈥淪o, it鈥檒l probably end up on a case-by-case, player-by-player basis in terms of how we evaluate the play time.鈥�

Bills running back James Cook is set to be available if needed for this preseason game against the Bears after he warmed up for the first preseason game against the New York Giants, but then did not play in the game.

With Cook getting the contract extension he sought on Thursday, his hold-in is now over 鈥� a sigh of relief for McDermott.

鈥淚f you study hold-ins over the years, it鈥檚 not good for teams, right, in terms of records and things,鈥� McDermott said. 鈥淪o, the sooner we could get things done, the more satisfied I was going to be. Certainly understanding things take some time once in a while. But, part of my job is to limit and eliminate distractions for our football team.鈥�

With Cook鈥檚 contract situation over, McDermott could look ahead to the practices at hand. Friday鈥檚 joint practice at Halas Hall came at exactly the right time for the Bills. This is the second year in a row that the Bills have traveled for a joint practice. Last preseason, they went to Pittsburgh to practice against the Steelers before playing them the same week.

鈥淚t鈥檚 usually about this time of training camp where guys get tired of beating on each other, and sometimes with that, either fights break out or the intensity dips a little bit, so it鈥檚 a good time and place for us to go against another opponent, especially on the road,鈥� McDermott said. 鈥淚n doing so, we come together a little more as a team, hang out a little more over the course of the trip, and then we can see where we鈥檙e at a little bit more as a team.鈥�

McDermott spoke to the team ahead of practice about how chippy joint practices can be across the league.

McDermott said during training camp in Pittsford that he was looking for a more physical team and the team responding accordingly. Now, he鈥檚 looking for the team to 鈥済et more crusty.鈥� The goal was to take another step in Chicago, and joint practices lend to that goal.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a physical sport, it鈥檚 going to be physical,鈥� McDermott said. 鈥淔rom what I hear, it was rather physical against the Dolphins when they were out here, so I would say that we should probably expect the same.鈥�