Much was made about an issue between quarterback Josh Allen and wide receiver Stefon Diggs during the Buffalo Bills‘ OTA practices. However, a league source who knows both players well called it “much to do about nothing.”
The source added that because the NFL news cycle is “slow in June,” it became a bigger issue outside the team than it really was.
Diggs “can get emotional,” the source added, but the two players have a “very strong working relationship,” and the issue should be “well behind them” when the Bills have their first training camp practice on Wednesday.
Diggs’ changing moods have long been a point of interest in and around Buffalo, particularly since Diggs got in Allen’s face on the sidelines of the Bills’ 2022 playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Diggs made headlines in the spring for skipping one of the team’s minicamp practices. His coach, Sean McDermott, didn’t help matters when he said he was “very concerned” about Diggs’ decision to leave the team on that day.
But later in the week, the issue seemed to have been ironed out. Diggs returned to team HQ, with McDermott clarifying that the receiver’s absence had been excused.
“We had a good conversation, great communication,” McDermott told reporters last month. “We got to a point yesterday 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 picked up those conversations after practice.
“So let me make it clear: It was not Stef leaving unexcused — he was excused, by me. And so those conversations have got us to, what I think and believe, is a great spot.
“Sometimes you got to have conversations and need to communicate. I appreciate Stef being willing to communicate. I thought he did a great job, and you guys need to understand Stef is 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 that I’ve been around — to be elite in this league, and that’s what he is. And I love him. So, I want to make sure that you guys understand what really the situation was and is. Because there’s some things that have been said that I think don’t think were fair, so I wanted to provide clarity to that situation.”