Josh Allen says 11 days in Bills camp has left him missing Hailee Steinfeld and their baby daughter, and the quarterback made it clear Monday that fatherhood has changed the way he sees everything.
On “The Pat McAfee Show,” Allen said he’s been strong on the football side while camp has tested him personally. He described the standard he sets for himself as a player, a husband and a father, saying:
“I strive to be the best father, the best husband, the best teammate that I can be. And it’s no different from anything else that I’m trying.
I’m just trying to be great at whatever I do. So, I think that’s the switch in the mind.”
Allen also opened up about the shift that came with becoming a dad to his daughter, Harper Haize. He said having a girl first changed him in a way that’s hard to miss.
“Especially having a girl first -- you become a little softer as a man. The heart grows a little bigger. I miss my family right now,” Allen said.
“We’ve been in camp for 11 days, and hopefully I get to see them soon. Yeah, it’s definitely a perspective changer. Things in the world seem to matter less.”
Allen’s comments came after an offseason in which he also took responsibility for the overtime loss to the Denver Broncos that led to Sean McDermott’s firing, saying he hadn’t given his best in that game.
The Bills quarterback has also spoken before about how Steinfeld helped choose their daughter’s name. In an interview with E! News on July 8, he said Harper Haize was an idea that came early in the process and credited his wife directly:
“It was an early thought that we had. It was my wife’s idea.”
Parenting has clearly become a major part of Allen’s life, and earlier this month he grew emotional while talking about parents facing adversity and the challenge of raising kids during his speech at the “117 Holes for Charity” golf event.
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