What Reportedly Led To Internal Tiff Between Stefon Diggs, Bills

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott noticeably backtracked on the subject of wide receiver Stefon Diggs last week.

McDermott initially told reporters he was “very concerned” about Diggs missing Tuesday’s minicamp session before he followed up Wednesday and said the wideout’s absence was excused after he did everything the team asked of him.

Given the fact Diggs’ frustrations were not contract-related — he signed a four-year, $96 million contract last offseason — it made the tiff between the player and the team all the more confusing.

The Boston Globe’s Ben Volin on Sunday reported on the situation and provided more context.

“The Bills really do have issues with Diggs, their 29-year-old star receiver. McDermott is just doing his best to deescalate a tricky situation,” Volin wrote in his weekly notes column.

Volin added: “Diggs’s frustration is with his role in the offense and his voice in play-calling, per a league source close to the Bills’ locker room.”

Volin pointed out how Diggs reacted during and after Buffalo’s playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, when he stormed out of the team’s locker room. The issues still had not been resolved when the Bills reported to minicamp last week, per Volin.

Perhaps common ground since has been reached? Diggs being back on the field Wednesday, coupled with McDermott’s comments, indicate that might be the case.

“Listen, getting Stef the ball is an important part of our offense,” McDermott told reporters last Wednesday, per Volin. “He’s a big focal point of our offense, in addition to Josh (Allen). And so, you know, it’s important to get him going, and the more production he has, the more production we have as an offense.”

We’ll see if there are any remnants of Diggs’ frustration when NFL teams report for training camp next month.