Back at the start of Bills minicamp, head coach Sean McDermott caused quite a stir when he told reporters in a press conference that he was “very concerned” that star receiver Stefon Diggs wasn’t in attendance.
Whatever happened there and whatever issues there were, they all seem to be resolved now as training camp begins.
McDermott said on Wednesday that the team is “in a good spot” with Diggs now. And Diggs echoed that sentiment in his own press conference, noting, “All is well in the Mafia household.”
So, from Diggs’ view, what happened?
“Well, coach [McDermott] had came up and told me that he misspoke,” Diggs said, via WGRZ-TV. “I don’t know if anyone has family here — everybody has family issues, everybody has family problems in the house. I was here. I did have a conversation with coach. And I like to keep things in-house.
“But all in all, I was here. We did have a conversation — me and him did have a conversation. It’s all water under the bridge now. But I attribute it to family matters. ... [W]hen you go out there and you fight tooth and nail, you put a lot of sweat equity into this thing, it starts to feel like a family. ... But at the end of the day, we had those conversations. Everything that needed to be said was said. We talked it out as men — everybody involved.”
To that end, Diggs said he and quarterback Josh Allen are just fine as well.
“That’s my guy,” Diggs said. “That’s why I say, when it’s family matters, me and him have a conversation. I don’t know if you’ve got kids, if you’ve got siblings — y’all don’t always get along. And me and him never did not get along. That’s still been my guy, that’s always going to be my guy. So, yeah, we’re fine.”
And Diggs still “100 percent” wants to continue his career through retirement with the Bills.
“I mean, the year before I told you that I wanted to retire a Buffalo Bill,” Diggs said. “And it’s more interesting to see how people run with a story. And it’s kind of unfortunate in my eyes, because it’s like, damn, I had the utmost love and appreciation for everyone involved.
“But you kind of start seeing people’s true colors when they might hear something or like, I might not clarify. But I don’t speak on anything I don’t want to speak on.”
Diggs has been an integral part of Buffalo’s offense over the last three seasons. He mentioned he’s received over 100 targets every year in that span, but really he’s caught over 100 passes each year and received at least 150 targets.
So Buffalo needs McDermott, Allen, Diggs, and everyone else involved to be on the same page to stay competitive this season — and possibly advance farther than the divisional round exit that’s plagued the club over the last two years.