Bills quarterback Josh Allen shows off new ring following marriage to actor Hailee Steinfeld
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Josh Allen's broad grin was familiar. The wedding band on the quarterback's ring finger was brand new.
As much as Allen hoped to talk about the Buffalo Bills on Tuesday, the newlywed couldn't escape questions about his headline-grabbing marriage to actor/singer Hailee Steinfeld in Southern California on May 31.
'We're back to football,' he said, before pointing to his ring finger. 'Got some hardware now. So, good to go.'
Allen was otherwise short on details as part of his longstanding bid to maintain a semblance of privacy, even though pictures from the outdoor wedding were posted on social media mere minutes after the couple exchanged 'I do's.' There were pictures of Steinfeld wearing a strapless white gown walking down the aisle, the couple sharing a kiss, and Allen, in a black tuxedo, posing with friends and Bills teammates.
It wasn't until being asked about what the past four months have meant to him — in which Allen was named NFL MVP in February, signed one of the league's richest contracts in March and got married in May — that Allen finally opened up.
He called Steinfeld his best friend, and said she makes everything easier.
'That was the most important decision I'll make in my life and I made the right one,' Allen said.
There's the 29-year-old Allen, who in seven seasons has set most of the Bills scoring and passing records. His star has continued to rise while he has transformed the Bills into an AFC power, also building his profile through various national commercials.
And then there's Steinfeld, 28, who first gained fame by earning an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress for her role as Mattie Ross in the Coen brothers' 2010 remake of 'True Grit.' She has since enjoyed numerous starring roles, most recently in the movie 'Sinners,' while also branching out into music.
Amid the buzz, Allen brought the focus back to football as Buffalo opened a three-day mandatory set of practices. The quarterback skipped the team's voluntary sessions last week.
Aside from taking his familiar spot leading the offense on the field, Allen spent time after practice being filmed to measure his footwork and mechanics. It's something Allen does several times a year to ensure he's not picking up bad habits.
'Making sure we're staying on top of those things and if there's something that we need to tweak for the better, we are going to try to do it,' he said.
The same could be said of Allen's unflinching approach to dealing with the spotlight. Coach Sean McDermott credits the quarterback for staying true to himself.
'What I've seen is this truly genuine, authentic person who, yes, is in the limelight, yes, is one of the top players in our league, and maybe the top player in the NFL,' McDermott said. 'But he is so authentic, so down-to-earth, so relatable. I think that's really the connection and the cool piece about Josh is because he is who he is.'
And yes, McDermott was among those in attendance at the wedding.
'I was very grateful to be there, No. 1,' McDermott said. 'Two, it was what you would expect of a wedding. Just great to see, and two really special families coming together.'
___
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Canadian teen Summer McIntosh shatters third world swim record in five days
FILE - Summer McIntosh of Canada reacts after competing in the Women's 200m Butterfly Heats on day three of the World Short Course Swimming Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos, file) VICTORIA, Canada (AP) — Canadian teen Summer McIntosh has done it again. The 18-year-old made it three world records in less than a week when she broke her own 400-meter individual medley mark on Wednesday night. Advertisement McIntosh won at the Canadian swimming trials in 4 minutes, 23.65 seconds to lower her previous best in one of the sport's toughest events by 0.73 seconds. Her closest rival was 12 seconds behind. 'What a week Victoria! Had so much fun in the pool this week,' McIntosh wrote on Instagram. McIntosh had already broken the world best mark in the 200 individual medley on Monday in 2:05.70, two days after shaving more than a second off the 400 freestyle record, completing the race in 3:54.18. The Toronto native also set new Canadian marks in two other events: The 200 butterfly, where she was less than half a second off a record that has stood since 2009, and the 800 freestyle, where she was also just off Katie Ledecky's world record set last month. Advertisement She is scheduled to compete in those five events at the world aquatics championships in Singapore next month. McIntosh won three gold medals at the Paris Olympics last year, winning her three individual events of the 400 and 200 individual medleys and the 200 butterfly. She also won silver in the 400 free. ___ AP sports:
New York Times
42 minutes ago
- New York Times
Bills minicamp takeaways: Keon Coleman's ups and downs, Maxwell Hairston injury, and more
After the Bills successfully completed their first day of mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, Wednesday served as a chance to build on those early reps to spot some trends throughout the three-day event. While no jobs are won or lost this time of year, if spring goes well enough for a player, they can begin training camp at a point on the depth chart that leads to more reps. Advertisement After the defense dominated much of Tuesday's practice, quarterback Josh Allen and the top offensive unit were far more effective as a passing offense on Wednesday. But the defense still had its moments late in the practice, with the likes of top cornerback Christian Benford having another strong day. The Bills have one final minicamp practice scheduled this week before the entire team breaks until training camp begins in late July. What stood out from Wednesday's practice? Here are several observations from Day 2 of minicamp. Bills head coach Sean McDermott set the tone on Tuesday for what was to come in 2025 when he said that they would be expecting their young players on defense to contribute this year. Whether that means starting or rotational roles, the expectations for near-immediate dividends were clearly important to the Bills and part of the reason they hammered defense so furiously throughout the offseason and in the draft. One player likely to play a big role on the Bills defense before long is 2025 first-round pick Maxwell Hairston. They've been coaching him hard, but after going through most of Wednesday's practice, Hairston went to the sideline with an apparent injury and was immediately checked on by two members of the athletic training staff. Hairston looked to be in discomfort when staffers were doing some early tests on his left leg. Hairston remained on the ground with the athletic training staff until practice wrapped up a few minutes later, and they helped him up. Hairston walked to the McDermott-led huddle with a slight limp. Once the huddle broke, the defensive backs sectioned off and did their usual post-practice drill work. Hairston went over to the drill with his teammates and had his helmet on, but did not participate. Once that let out, Hairston made a long, slow walk with head athletic trainer Nate Breske from the furthest outdoor field through the fieldhouse and into the training room area. Considering Thursday is the last day of minicamp before an extended break, and that Hairston remains unsigned on his rookie deal, the likeliest outcome is that the rookie won't be a full participant for the final minicamp practice. Advertisement Despite the injury, it's notable how much of a vested interest the Bills, and most notably, cornerbacks coach Jahmile Addae have taken in Hairston. Addae and Hairston are in constant communication, whether immediately after a rep or on the sideline while others are on the field. Hairston has produced some good moments through the weeks of work, but also some teachable moments that resulted in receptions for the offense. The Bills are feeling optimistic about Hairston, though it remains to be seen if he can win the starting job outright to begin the 2025 season. Health is a big factor for training camp, so the results of their testing on the injury he suffered Wednesday loom large. To say that the 2025 season is big for Keon Coleman would be an understatement. The Bills liked what they saw from Coleman enough as a rookie to stop them from taking a significant swing at the receiver position. While Joshua Palmer looks the part of a good weekly contributor, he has yet to be the high-impact type during his NFL career. That leaves Coleman perfectly positioned for a massive role in his second season, and what he does with it will likely determine how much of a need receiver is during the 2026 offseason. On Wednesday during minicamp, we saw both the good of Coleman's game and the areas that he needs to improve upon. Coleman played to his strengths early on in the session, putting together some quality routes and catches on shorter area targets as he corralled two receptions from Allen during 7-on-7s and then another during the second go-round for the Allen-led offense during 11-on-11 work. It was all trending toward a strong showing from the second-year player, but after that third reception, the day got away from Coleman and some of the consistency questions popped back up again. A few plays after that third catch, Coleman encountered a contested situation where the throw from Allen might have been slightly behind the route, but without much separation from the defensive back, Coleman dropped the pass. Then in the team's final 11-on-11 drill, Coleman dropped another pass, this time with Benford in coverage. Two plays later, Allen saw an open Khalil Shakir over the middle of the field and tried to feather the pass to him past the first down marker, and Coleman skyed into the air to try and catch the pass well out of his reach, managing to get a hand on the ball as it fell incomplete. It would have been a first down if he had stayed away from the pass. The day was quite similar to the give and take of his rookie season. He'll make some big plays occasionally, but then he'll have some regrettable reps that question his ability to be a consistent playmaker for the team. Those on-ball concerns, along with his intermediate to deep separation skills, are questions he'll need to answer this season. Even though that was the result of his minicamp practice, it's wise not to get too far ahead one way or another on Coleman from just these few instances. There are a lot of practices and games ahead that will ultimately dictate what he'll be to the Bills' offense. They just need him to operate more consistently as training camp practices start to rack up this summer. Since minicamp began on Tuesday, the Bills have been without starting center Connor McGovern during most of practice due to an injury, which has opened the door of opportunity for second-year player Sedrick Van Pran-Granger. A fifth-round pick in 2024, Van Pran-Granger said he has been taking the first-team reps at center with Allen and between their two usual starters — left guard David Edwards and right guard O'Cyrus Torrence. It's a big deal for Van Pran-Granger, who was effectively redshirted throughout the 2024 season, outside of a handful of garbage time snaps and one start with all the backups in Week 18 against the Patriots. He hasn't received many first-team reps since being drafted, so this minicamp has been a big deal for him. Advertisement 'I think the biggest thing for me is just making sure that I make everybody else confident,' Van Pran-Granger said in working with Allen and the usual starters. 'You don't want to come in, and they're different, and they're trying to learn about you. No, you need to learn how to do it the way that Connor does it. You learn how to make those guys feel safe, feel comfortable. So it just keeps running like a well-oiled machine.' Van Pran-Granger said he spent most of his offseason in Buffalo working on getting stronger, more powerful and more explosive. And despite working at guard a bit throughout his rookie year, the Bills have had him focus mainly on center to begin his second season, which is a comfortable place for him, considering he started at that spot for three full seasons at Georgia. It's a big summer for Van Pran-Granger because not only does he need to convince the coaches that he's the first substitute in case of an in-season McGovern injury, but he could also be their starter in 2026 should the Bills move on from McGovern, who is a free agent after the year. Van Pran-Granger will also have to contend with Alec Anderson, who didn't practice during team drills for the second straight day, but has also worked at center throughout his time in Buffalo. For now, with the deck cleared, Van Pran-Granger has his best opportunity to show his abilities since arriving in Buffalo. Any time there's a spring practice that doesn't have full pads, and there's an enhanced focus on restricting physicality to coincide with the league's rules for the offseason program, it's tough to gauge offensive and defensive line play. It's mostly a game of hypotheticals in being where you're supposed to be and executing assignments, as opposed to training camp being about winning one-on-ones, splitting double teams and showing the true nature of the position. However, every now and then there's a standout play, and 2025 second-round pick T.J. Sanders delivered one on the final play of practice. As quarterback Mike White dropped back to pass on a fourth down situation, Sanders held his spot at the point of attack, kept his jersey clean and kept his eyes on White the entire rep. When White reared back to pass, Sanders timed his jump and batted down the fourth down pass at the line with authority. It was a nice moment for the rookie, who has generally been acclimating himself to the new defense. The big test for Sanders will be when the pads go on at training camp and we'll get to see how his speed and power as a pass rusher look against NFL competition. • CB Tre'Davious White had a tough day in one-on-one coverage, but made one of the biggest defensive plays of the day when an Allen pass was thrown a bit behind Shakir, it bounced off Shakir and into the arms of White for a pick-six. • WR Elijah Moore, working with various quarterbacks throughout the day, caught all five of his catch opportunities in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 work. Three of his catches came when working with Allen, and the other two were with White. • WR Laviska Shenault, after participating fully on Tuesday, was a non-participant on Wednesday due to an undisclosed injury. He was in attendance for the practice, however. Not taking part in 11-on-11 work: RB Ty Johnson, WR Laviska Shenault, WR K.J. Hamler, C Connor McGovern, IOL Alec Anderson, LB Baylon Spector, LB Shaq Thompson, NCB Cam Lewis, S Cole Bishop, S Damar Hamlin Up next: The Bills will hold their final day of minicamp practice at 11 a.m. on Thursday. (Top photo of Keon Coleman: Gregory Fisher / Imagn Images)
Hamilton Spectator
an hour ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Poland coach resigns after dispute with star striker Robert Lewandowski
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The coach of Poland's national soccer team announced Thursday has resigned as head coach, days after a spat with star striker Robert Lewandowski. 'I have come to the conclusion that, given the current situation, the best decision for the good of the national team is my resignation from the position of head coach,' Michał Probierz said in a statement published by the Polish Football Association. Probierz stripped Barcelona striker Lewandowski of his position as team captain on the eve of a World Cup qualifier against Finland earlier this week, and named Inter Milan midfielder Piotr Zieliński as the new captain. Lewandowski reacted by saying he would no longer play for the national team as long as Probierz remains head coach. Poland went on to suffer an embarrassing 2-1 defeat to Finland, to put its qualifications hopes into jeopardy. The 36-year-old Lewandowski, who has played a record 158 games for his country and is the leading scorer with 85 goals, is arguably the most outstanding player in the history of Polish soccer. Lewandowski pulled out of last Friday's friendly over Moldova, citing tiredness from a La Liga title-winning season with Barcelona. Probierz, who took over in September 2023 after the disappointing tenure of Fernando Santos, managed to secure qualification for the 2024 European Championship but has since struggled. The Polish Football Association's president, Cezary Kulesza, had summoned Probierz on Wednesday to discuss the matter. 'I give coaches a lot of freedom, but with that comes responsibility. I expect results, first and foremost,' Kulesza said. 'These were difficult days for the fans of the national team.' ___ AP soccer:
