Alaina Getzenberg, ESPNJun 13, 2023, 12: 28 PM ET
- Alaina Getzenberg is a staff writer who covers the Buffalo Bills and the NFL. She joined ESPN in 2021. Alaina was previously a beat reporter for the Charlotte Observer and has also worked for CBS Sports and the Dallas Morning News. She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley. You can follow her via Twitter @agetzenberg.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen said wide receiver Stefon Diggs‘ absence from the team’s first mandatory minicamp practice Tuesday, after leaving the facility earlier in the day, comes from an issue the team is working on internally.
The quarterback said that he did not think there is a personality conflict between him and Diggs but that there are things that could have gone better last year. Some examples Allen gave of what the Bills can do to support Diggs is incorporating him “a little bit better in what we’re doing here” and “getting him the ball or getting more involved in the game plan.”
Allen said that it is related to “teamwork” and has to do with more than just football, but he placed some responsibility on himself, saying, “There’s things that I could do better to help out with this process and try to get him back here and be the Buffalo Bill that he’s meant to be.”
“I think we’re just, as an organization, maybe not communicating the right way with everything,” Allen said. “So again, just trying to talk and listen at the same time and hear him out. And like I said, just try to move this forward as quickly and as respectfully as possible.”
The pair did speak Tuesday, per Allen, and the quarterback downplayed the importance of the wide receiver’s absence with it being June and there being plenty of time before the season starts. Pass-rusher Von Miller also referenced that Diggs not being here for practice this time of year is “really not that serious,” and both players expressed their love and support for the wide receiver.
“Stef, he’s my guy,” Allen said. “Excuse my … I f—ing love him. He’s a brother of mine. 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 not the case, but I’ve got his back no matter what. And again, I’ve got no doubt that we will figure out what’s going on. I frigging love him. I can’t stress that enough.”
The unconventional day started with coach Sean McDermott saying before practice that Diggs was not present and that he was “very concerned, very concerned” about the absence. Allen described the response as “a typical reaction from a head coach. Obviously, he wants everybody here.”
The Bills and Diggs’ agent, Adisa Bakari, who spoke with ESPN’s Adam Schefter, said that Diggs was in the building Monday and was present Tuesday morning. Bakari said that Diggs took his physical, met with McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane over the past two days, and “will be there for the entirety of the minicamp.”
Per the Bills, Diggs left the facility before Tuesday’s practice. He was not present for any portion of the team’s practice on the outdoor field at the facility. The team is also scheduled to practice Wednesday and Thursday. The wide receiver was not present for any of the team’s voluntary OTAs.
“When players miss, in particular [a] player of Stef’s caliber, you’d love to have those players here,” McDermott said. “So, overall been pleased with the attendance and the guys’ effort.”
McDermott is not scheduled to speak to the media again before training camp.
Diggs signed a four-year, $96 million extension last offseason, and trading him would incur a significant dead cap hit, including $13.2 million this year. His deal included $70 million guaranteed, the third most all time for a wide receiver. Diggs, 29, and Buffalo had their sights set on him retiring with the Bills when the contract was signed in April 2022.
After the team’s postseason loss to the Bengals in January that featured the Buffalo offense’s lowest output of the year, Diggs was noticeably upset with Allen on the sideline and left before talking to the media. At times this offseason, Diggs’ tweets have gotten attention for being cryptic about his time with the team; however, that is not uncommon.
Diggs’ production declined in the second half of the 2022 season. He started the year on pace for his best career season statistically with 72 receptions on 98 targets for 985 yards and seven touchdowns in the first nine games. In the nine games that followed, including the postseason, Diggs caught 47 receptions on 74 targets and four touchdowns.
Diggs has totaled 1,200-plus receiving yards in each of his three seasons with the Bills. He has totaled 29 touchdowns. Allen and Diggs have connected on 338 completions over the past three seasons, the most for any quarterback-receiver duo in the NFL since 2020. Last week, Beane said he anticipates that “everyone will be here. I haven’t been told otherwise.”
Behind Diggs, the wide receiver room contains Gabe Davis, Trent Sherfield, Deonte Harty and Khalil Shakir. The Bills drafted tight end Dalton Kincaid in the first round this year.