Orchard Park, N.Y. (WBEN) - Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott opened Tuesday's press conference from mandatory minicamp by saying he was "very concerned" with the absence of veteran wide receiver Stefon Diggs.
As the team later clarified Tuesday afternoon, Diggs was in Orchard Park for pre-minicamp medical testing on Monday, and was also at the team facility Tuesday morning before leaving just ahead of practice.
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At the start of Wednesday's practice session at mandatory minicamp, Diggs was back on the field and taking part with the rest of his teammates. While the 29-year-old did not take part in any offense vs. defense team reps on Wednesday, he did take part in all individual wide receiver work.
Following Wednesday's practice, McDermott stepped back up to the podium at the ADPRO Sports Training Center and wanted to provide more clarity into the situation that unfolded over the course of Tuesday.
"'Stef' did everything that he was asked to do. He was here Monday and executed his physical on time. 'Stef' reported Tuesday and reported for meetings, at which time we had a good conversation, great communication," said McDermott on Wednesday. "We got to a point [Tuesday] where we just felt like we all needed a break and some space. So I gave 'Stef' permission to get some space and head out, and then picked up those conversations after practice.
"It was not 'Stef' leaving unexcused, he was excused by me."
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While McDermott did not get into any detail over the conversations he had with Diggs, he believes those talks have gotten all parties into "a great spot" moving forward into the summer.
"Sometimes you've got to have conversations, you need to communicate, and I appreciate 'Stef', being willing to communicate," McDermott said. "I thought he did a great job, and you guys need to understand 'Stef's' a valuable member of this football team. He's one of our captains and a leader on this football team. He works extremely, extremely hard, as hard as any player I've been around to be elite in this league, and that's what he is. And I love him."
When asked why he used the words "very concerned" to describe the situation surrounding Diggs' absence from mandatory minicamp, McDermott says whenever a player has something going on and is not taking part in team activities, it's a concern that is shared with any player, especially one of Diggs' caliber.
"I get concerned when players miss for reasons off the field, for reasons on the field there. Whether it'd be they're injured or whatever it is, that's just how I am. So when I say 'very concerned', I'm very concerned because of the situation with one of our players, and it was something that we needed to work through," McDermott explained. "Those are healthy conversations that happen, and I'm extremely appreciative of those conversations. When you have those healthy conversations, it gets you to a better spot. And I feel good about that. I feel like we're in that spot."
McDermott has been impressed and appreciative with the level of communication that has taken place internally with the situation surrounding Diggs. When it comes down to it, McDermott knows what the conversations all dwindle down to with everyone involved.
"We all want the same thing, and that's what we kept coming back to. We all want to win, and I think we're in a good spot," he said.
When asked if the situation has resolved itself going forward, McDermott felt that it has.
"I just think overall, communication is always good. You never shut communication down," he added. "Whether it's 'Stef' or another player or a coach, communication's important, just like it is in our homes. Those conversations are healthy, and I don't think you ever say that's a hard stop. You're always talking, always working through things schematically, or whatever it is. Those are good things."
During Tuesday's press conference with the media after practice, Bills quarterback Josh Allen alluded to the team needing to get its No. 1 wide receiver more involved in the offense. He also said he needs to do a better job of getting Diggs the ball, and getting him more involved in the offensive game plan.
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Looking back on the season that was for the Bills in 2022, McDermott says the coaching staff came out of meetings knowing they could have done better in not only getting Diggs more involved, but also the overall landscape of where they want to be as a unit.
"Listen, getting 'Stef' the ball is an important part of our offense. There's no reason to say it isn't. He's the big focal point of our offense in addition to Josh," McDermott said. "It's important to get him going, and the more production he has, the more production we have as an offense. Those usually work hand-in-hand. I've said it before, he provides great energy to our football team overall, not just offensively, but defensively and special teams. That's big for us."
McDermott feels this matter will not be any sort of distraction to his team going forward, and was impressed with how the group handled the situation in the final offseason tune-up before training camp begins in late July.
As for center Mitch Morse, he was happy to see his teammate back in the building on Wednesday.
"Stefon is such an explosive personality, as well as a football player. We all have our personal relationships with every player in here, and I feel like we have a very good one between us two," said Morse following Wednesday's practice. "It's just good to see a friend out here, as well as an exceptional football player."
Morse understands why Diggs' absence has become such big news in the media, because he's such an important piece on the Bills. While he will not get into speculating whether there is any turbulence in or outside the building in Orchard Park, he's confident that cooler heads will prevail and the focus can shift to the future of the football team.
"I want 'Stef' and everyone to be the happiest version of themselves. He's one of the best teammates I've been around. I also think they're working through it. I think they're doing the thing that they're supposed to do, which is have possibly uncomfortable conversations, have some candidness, which can be hard at times. But in the end, you appreciate it and you work it out in any facet of life," Morse said. "I don't totally know what's going on, but I'm sure it'll work itself out one way or another. And however it does, we'll all know together, and we'll answer it there.
"Whether it's from management down, when push comes to shove - I can see it's uncomfortable to have the conversation, you don't shy away from it - whether it'd be with player-to-coach, coach-to-player, and that doesn't mean you need to be disrespectful, it just means that sometimes you're not gonna like what you hear. But we do it in a way that's constructive. In any kind of conversation you have in this building, you want it to be constructive, not demeaning. I think that's set at the top, and I'm sure that's what's going on."
Thursday was supposed to be the team's final practice of mandatory minicamp, but as it has been over the last several years, the final session has been canceled.
The team will now have the next several weeks to enjoy the summer before returning for training camp at St. John Fisher University in late July.