Orchard Park, N.Y. (WBEN/AP) - Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen says while he's concerned Stefon Diggs was a no-show during Tuesday's mandatory minicamp practice, he supports Diggs and hopes the receiver will return to the team.
Allen notes the team is working on things internally, not football related, but says Diggs is his guy. "I love him. He's a brother of mine. You know, this does not work, what we're doing here, without him. We wish he was in here today and was out there on the field with us. And that's, that's not the case, but I've got his back no matter what," Allen told reporters. He remains confident the team will figure out what's going on
“I’m very concerned,” is all McDermott would say regarding the absence of the team’s top receiver. Diggs had previously skipped the team’s voluntary spring sessions and workouts.
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Allen says he can't speak for Diggs if this has anything to do with the Bills' loss in the divisional round to Cincinnati in January. But he says he's, "Going to do everything in my power to make sure that we can we can get him back because we are a much, much better team with him on the field." Allen notes when Diggs is in, he's all the way in. "That's why guys gravitate towards him. He's a fiery competitor, and day to day, he wants to win. This team wants to win. And, make no mistake, he's a Buffalo Bill," adds Allen.
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Allen says he spoke with Diggs Tuesday, and believes there will be some more conversations going forward. "He's such a special player, we don't want this to be a distraction. He doesn't want this to be a distraction. It is what it is. And the positive thing is, we're not playing a game tomorrow, we got time, this was minicamp, we got a lot of time to figure this this out," notes Allen.
Diggs was particularly upset over how the Bills season ended with a dud in a 27-10 loss to Cincinnati in the divisional round of the playoffs in January.
It was an outing in which Diggs was caught by TV cameras making animated raised-arm gestures at quarterback Josh Allen on the sideline.
His frustrations spilled over afterward, when he immediately bolted from the locker room before McDermott addressed the team, leading to teammate Isaiah McKenzie chasing down Diggs and convincing him to return.
Bills released a statement saying Diggs was at their facility on Monday and Tuesday morning, and left before practice opened.
Diggs’ agent Adisa Bakari, in a message sent to The Associated Press, disputed the timing of Diggs’ departure by saying that’s “not completely accurate,” by suggesting his client was still at the team facility when practice began.
In a message sent to ESPN, Bakari said Diggs spent the past two days meeting with McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane, and “will be there for the entirety of camp.”
The development comes as a surprise after Beane said last week he expected all 90 players — including Diggs — to be in attendance this week.
Diggs is entering his fourth season in Buffalo, and last summer was rewarded with a four-year, $96 million contract that kicks in this season. The two sides agreed to restructure the contract this spring in allowing the Bills to free up salary cap space.
The way the contract was restructured would make it very difficult for the Bills to trade or cut Diggs because of how it would affect their payroll.
Since being acquired in a trade with Minnesota in March 2020, the 29-year-old has been one of the NFL’s most productive receivers by combining for 365 catches for 4,189 yards and 29 touchdowns — one fewer than he had in Minnesota — in his three seasons in Buffalo.
Diggs’ production hit a lull in the latter portion of last season, when he went through a three-game stretch in which he had 10 catches for 123 yards and no touchdowns. Otherwise, his 108 catches and 1,429 yards ranked second on the single-season Bills list, and he matched a team record with 11 touchdowns receiving.
Diggs has not commented publicly regarding his reasons for staying away, but has posted various notes on social media over the past few months.
In March, Diggs briefly unfollowed the Bills on Twitter, though the team is once again listed among the 593 accounts he follows, a list that includes many of his teammates.
Diggs was particularly upset over how the Bills season ended with a dud in a 27-10 loss to Cincinnati in the divisional round of the playoffs in January.
It was an outing in which Diggs was caught by TV cameras making animated raised-arm gestures at Allen on the sideline.
His frustrations spilled over afterward, when he immediately bolted from the locker room before McDermott addressed the team, leading to teammate Isaiah McKenzie chasing down Diggs and convincing him to return.
A day later, Diggs avoided reporters and instead shared his disappointment by posting three messages on his Twitter account.
He opened with, “Want me to be okay with losing? Nah,” and followed it up by writing, “Want me to be okay with our level of play when it’s not up to the standard? Nah.” Diggs wrote.
Allen blamed reporters for blowing Diggs' absence out of proportion.
“We're not playing a game this week. We got a lot of time left,” Allen said.