Update: Stefon Diggs’ agent, Adisa Bakari, now says that his client has been in Buffalo since Monday morning and took his physical. The plan is for Diggs to be at camp for the duration. This is certainly a major twist.
Buffalo Bills star wide receiver Stefon Diggs has been vocal about the team’s disappointing playoff performances over the past couple seasons.
It had led to previous speculation that the Pro Bowler was not happy in Western New York. Now, with the Bills taking part in mandatory minicamp this week, Diggs is absent.
Head coach Sean McDermott sounded the alarm bells when talking to the media on Tuesday, indicating that he is “very concerned” about Diggs’ absence from mandatory minicamp.
Most of the time a player skips out on mandatory minicamp, it is contract related. Though, we’re not 100% sure this is the case with Diggs.
The three-time Pro Bowl performer is playing under a four-year, $96 million contract he signed with Buffalo back in April of last year. Said deal runs through the 2027 season. On a per-year basis, this makes Stefon Diggs the fifth highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL. It’s surprising that he would take such a stance just over a calendar year after Buffalo extended him.
Related: Stefon Diggs and the NFL’s top-100 players of 2023
Stefon Diggs’ situation with the Buffalo Bills worth monitoring
NFL insider Mike Giardi noted after this news broke that the Diggs’ situation with Buffalo has been building since the team lost to the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Divisional Playoffs.
If you remember, Diggs was heated after the game. He was set to leave the locker room before meeting with the media. Cooler heads prevailed. But it was the continuation of major frustrations on the part of one of the game’s best receivers. He expanded on that a short while after said loss.
“It doesn’t make sense. I’ll rack my brain with this s**t at this point. I think it’s more execution than anything. S**t is small little pieces on why it’s not going right … We’ve got the players. We’ve got the plays. Why s**t ain’t coming together? That’s where you draw some of those questions. I never want to question who I am, I never want to question how I am. I’m giving this s**t everything I’ve got. I’m dying on the hill for that.”
Stefon Diggs on Buffalo Bills playoff struggles
As one of the top Super Bowl contenders heading into the 2023 NFL season, this is a story that we must follow.
If Diggs’ absence from mandatory minicamp is not financially driven, it speaks to larger issues between the star pass-catcher and his organization. And given Diggs’ importance to the Bills’ success, this can’t be overstated.
- Stefon Diggs stats (2022): 108 receptions, 1,429 yards, 11 TD, 70.1% catch rate
Quarterback Josh Allen boasted an absurd 120.3 QB rating when targeting Diggs a season ago. He’s their best skill-position player and one of the top wide receivers in the NFL. The rift could also be a continuation of what we saw from Diggs late in the aforementioned loss to Buffalo when he was seen yelling at Allen on the sidelines.
As for Allen, he talked to reporters on Tuesday regarding the Diggs’ situation. The quarterback said that it’s non-football related.
“Internally, we’re working on some things, not football-related — but Stef, he’s my guy, I f—— love him. We wish he was in here today and was out there on the field with us, but that’s not the case. I’ve got his back no matter what, I’ve got no doubts we will figure out what’s going on,” Josh Allen on Stefon Diggs.
It’s certainly a story to watch moving forward.