Disgruntled Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs returned to practice after causing a stir when he skipped Tuesday amid mysterious issues between him and the team.
Diggs’ absence had initially left head coach Sean McDermott “very concerned,” but tensions appeared to ease on Wednesday.
McDermott came out to say Diggs hadn’t skipped the team’s mandatory session on Tuesday, but he was basically excused.
As for the issues leading up to Diggs worrying about questioning his role on offense, the coach said the team and receiver are “in a really good place.”
McDermott made an unscheduled appearance with reporters after practice to answer questions about Diggs’ status, clarifying and expanding on the limited comments he made to help cause a stir a day earlier.
Buffalo Bills disgruntled star wide receiver Stefon Diggs returned to practice on Wednesday
Diggs caused a stir Tuesday when he failed to show up after being at the facility earlier
Bills head coach Sean McDermott shed some light on the situation when he spoke to reporters
Then he said he was “very concerned” about the receiver leaving the team’s facility and missing mandatory training.
In preparing a timeline, McDermott said he and team officials had conversations with Diggs Monday and Tuesday to address recipient concerns.
The team and player then agreed to take a break from talks, with McDermott saying he apologized to Diggs for practicing and picked up talks again later in the day.
“Sometimes you need to have conversations, you need communication and I appreciate that Stef is willing to communicate,” McDermott said.
“And you must understand, Stef is a valuable member of this football team. He is one of our captains and a leader. … And I love him.’
While Diggs has yet to address reporters or publicly share his concerns, he was a welcome sight as he wore his No. 14 white practice jersey and shorts on his off-season practice debut. Diggs skipped the team’s earlier voluntary training sessions, which started in mid-April.
Diggs limited himself to participating in only the stretch and individual practice portions, watching team sessions from the sidelines, some of them with offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey. During a stretching session, Diggs reached out and shook quarterback Josh Allen’s hand.
McDermott said Diggs’ limited practice time was intended to “step him up” by the start of training camp. The Bills canceled their last mandatory session on Thursday and are off until they report to camp in suburban Rochester late next month.
While McDermott did not disclose the details of his conversations with Diggs, Allen shed light on the issues a day earlier. The quarterback said Diggs’ concerns are unresolved issues that stem from last season, including more receiver involvement on offense and more input into game planning as one of the player’s concerns.
“I think there are some things that could have gone better last year and didn’t go,” said Allen. ‘I think as an organization we may not be communicating with everything in the right way.’
Diggs is entering his fourth season at Buffalo and last summer he was awarded a four-year, $96 million contract starting this season.
Since being acquired in a trade with Minnesota in March 2020, the 29-year-old has been one of the NFL’s most prolific receivers, combining for 365 catches for 4,189 yards and 29 touchdowns — one fewer than he had at Minnesota — in his three seasons in Buffalo.
Diggs’ production was disappointing in the latter part of last season, as he endured a three-game spell where he had 10 catches for 123 yards and no touchdowns. Otherwise, his 108 catches and 1,429 yards tied for second on the Bills single-season list, tying a team record with 11 touchdowns.
McDermott initially said he was “deeply concerned” about Digg’s absence on Tuesday
Josh Allen said neither he nor Diggs “wants this to be a distraction” – although it already seems that way
Diggs has posted several notes on social media in recent months hinting at his unhappiness. He was particularly upset about how the Bills season ended with a dud in a 27–10 loss to Cincinnati in the divisional round of the January playoffs.
It was an outing where Diggs was caught by TV cameras making animated raised arm gestures to Allen on the sidelines.
His frustrations boiled over afterwards, as he immediately stormed out of the locker room before McDermott addressed the team, leading to teammate Isaiah McKenzie chasing Diggs and convincing him to return.
Bills center Mitch Morse was unaware of the issues Diggs was dealing with, though he was pleased—and not surprised—the two sides talked about it.
“They do what they have to do, which is maybe have awkward conversations, have some candor, which can be difficult at times, but in the end you appreciate it,” Morse said. ‘I want Stef and everyone to be the happiest version of themselves. He’s one of the best teammates I know.’