Jan 8, 2023; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs (14) show support for teammate Damar Hamlin and waves to fans prior to the game against the New England Patriots at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports.
Can you imagine a world featuring Stefon Diggs’ disgruntlement?
Definitely not, huh?
Sarcasm aside, the Buffalo Bills appear to be experiencing what the Minnesota Vikings did for a year or so in 2019 and 2020.
Like the Vikings, Bills mandatory minicamp kicked off Tuesday, and oddly, Diggs is nowhere to be found. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweeted, “Bills coach Sean McDermott told reporters that WR Stefon Diggs is not at mandatory minicamp and said he is ‘very concerned’ about it.”
Diggs is presumably okay — as in, his well-being — but his absence from minicamp is beyond strange. Tom Pelissero further explained, “Bills WR Stefon Diggs, who is absent from mandatory minicamp today, is making $24.415 million in 2023, including a $22.745M signing bonus as part of a March restructure. A mountain of dead cap means his contract isn’t really tradeable from Buffalo’s end. An unusual situation.”
Diggs is the NFL’s fifth highest-paid wideout per average annual value earning $24 million per season, so, in line with Pelissero’s musings, his absence from minicamp shouldn’t be contract-related. Typically no-shows at minicamp involve a contract — and Diggs has one of those, a respectable one.
This isn’t the first time Diggs has made headlines for bizarre team-oriented behavior. He became disillusioned with the Vikings run-first offense in 2019, skipped practice after a loss to the Chicago Bears, was fined $200,000, and later demanded a trade from then-GM Rick Spielman. The former Vikings boss obliged after the 2019 season, shipping Diggs to the Bills for draft picks that would turn into Justin Jefferson and Camryn Bynum, among others.
Five months ago, Joe Buscaglia, a Bills reporter for The Atheltic, tweeted about Diggs after Buffalo’s 27-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC’s Divisional Round, “Bills WR Stefon Diggs darted out of the locker room with all his stuff before some of the Bills coaches were even down to the tunnel area. Practice squad RB Duke Johnson stopped Diggs before he left the stadium and brought him back to the locker room. He left a few minutes later.”
Diggs also did this during the playoff loss:
Diggs is a stand-up human being and absolutely isn’t known as a locker-room cancer or anything of the ilk. However, he’s never skittish about expressing emotion, sometimes via cryptic avenues. During the lead-up to the Vikings trade with the Bills, Diggs posted lyrics and other strange statements to Twitter ad nauseam to strangely stir the pot. And then the ‘cryptic tweets’ climaxed with his departure from the Vikings and one final tweet, “It’s time for a new beginning.”
The Bills Twitter account also tweeted about the Diggs development, “Stefon is not in attendance.”
Since joining the Bills three years ago, Diggs ranks fourth leaguewide in receiving yards behind Justin Jefferson, Davante Adams, and Tyreek Hill.
Update: After this article’s publication, ESPN Adam Schefter tweeted, “Stefon Diggs’ agent, Adisa Bakari, said his client is in Buffalo, has been in Buffalo since yesterday morning, took his physical, met with the head coach and GM the past two days and the Pro-Bowl WR “will be there for the entirety of the minicamp.”
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.