Sean McDermott reverses course on Stefon Diggs, says Bills in 'great spot' with star WR
One day after Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott said he was "very concerned" about Stefon Diggs' absence from the team's mandatory minicamp practice, the star wide receiver participated in Wednesday afternoon's session.
The Bills Twitter account shared a 20-second video of Diggs running through light warmup, tossing and catching passes with his teammates and lightly jogging. The caption of the post read: "He's here." The account also shared a follow-up post with a pair of photos of Diggs, one of which showed him walking toward star quarterback Josh Allen.
After Wednesday's practice, McDermott said Diggs' absence Tuesday was excused.
"Let me be clear: Stef did everything that he was asked to do," he said Wednesday when attempting to clarify the matter. "He was here Monday and executed his physical on time. Stef reported yesterday, Tuesday, and reported for meetings, at which time we had a good conversation, great communication, and we got to a point yesterday where we felt like we all needed a break and some space. So I gave Stef permission to get some space and head out and picked up those conversations after practice."
McDermott added that he thought the team was in "a great spot" and said he considered the matter resolved. Still, the optimistic tone he struck Wednesday was in direct contrast to the comments he had made the day previous.
"Whenever a player has something going on, or misses — not misses but he's not here for some reason — I am concerned," McDermott said. "That's my sentiment with any player, but in particular a player that's important to us as Stef. I get concerned when players miss for reasons off the field, reasons on the field, whether they be injured or whatever it is, that's just how I am.
"So when I say 'very concerned,' I'm very concerned because it was a situation with one of our players and it was something we needed to work through. Those are healthy conversations that happen and I'm extremely appreciative of those conversations."
McDermott declined to specify the nature of his conversations with Diggs and what any potential displeasure may have been related to.
During his news conference Tuesday morning, McDermott said that Diggs was the only player not present for Buffalo's three-day mandatory minicamp, which concludes Thursday.
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The team later clarified Tuesday afternoon that Diggs was at the team facility both Monday and Tuesday but left prior to Tuesday's practice. Diggs' agent, Adisa Bakari, told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Tuesday that his client would be on hand "for the entirety of the minicamp."
On his Instagram account, at around 10 a.m. ET on Tuesday, some hours before the Bills were set to begin their practice, Diggs reposted photos shared by trainer Myron Flowers that showed Diggs on a football field, apparently going through some conditioning.
"I know we're working on things internally," Allen said Tuesday at a post-practice news conference, saying the matters were "non-football related."
"But Stef, he's my guy. I (expletive) love him. He's a brother of mine. This does not work, what we're doing here, without him. ... I've got his back no matter what."
In April 2022, Diggs signed a four-year extension worth up to $104 million that keeps him under contract with the team through 2027. Diggs is also one of the most heavily featured receivers in football, ranking near the top in receptions and targets over the last three seasons; during his time in Buffalo, Diggs has been targeted 484 times.
Diggs had showed his displeasure on the sideline during Buffalo's 27-10 divisional-round playoff loss at home to the Cincinnati Bengals. During the game, Diggs had a verbal exchange with Allen. After the loss, Diggs left the stadium without speaking to reporters.