Getty Quandre Diggs makes a play in 2017.
The Detroit Lions move to trade Quandre Diggs represented a major shock to the system for the team, and his teammates were the first round of people to be blown away by the move.
Diggs himself, though, quickly joined them. As he explained after joining the Seattle Seahawks, he merely took a nap with his daughter, then woke up to phone calls that he had been traded. That represented a major blindside to him which caught him completely off guard, especially as a team captain.
Diggs elaborated and said that his chat with the Lions wasn’t long after that fact when they tried to explain the move, and there was little explanation for the move, merely that they were going to send him to Seattle and they had decided on the trade.
Obviously, it was a calculated move that the team had planned to make and a business decision based around the fact that they had others at the spot ready to compete.
Matt Patricia’s Take
Patricia offered a little bit more on the trade when he spoke with the media, saying that it was far from an easy decision to deal Diggs, no matter how it may have looked on the surface.
“Certainly those decisions are very difficult. They’re not taken lightly. They’re things we try to do to help the team get better in the long run for us. Certainly a situation where we think moving forward we think we have some players that can still help us, even if we have to make a move like we did yesterday,” he said to the media.
As for Diggs himself, Patricia admitted he wished him well in the future and understood what me meant to the squad and certainly the fans.
“Certainly Diggs has been a part of our team for a while. Great person and all that. Wish him the best of luck, but in the end, just trying to help our team as best we can going forward.”
Follow the Heavy on Lions Facebook page for all the latest stories, rumors and viral content!
Many Players Not Surprised
While Lions players expressed their frustration in the moment on the internet, they were taking things much better by Wednesday, with most agreeing that football is a business where these kind of things can and routinely do happen, even to the biggest of name players.
Fellow safety Tracy Walker admitted he’s still focused on his role and his team, even as crazy changes may swirl and happen around him.
“That’s the front office. My job is to come in to play the best I can possibly play and execute my role. Whatever happens in the front office that’s what happens,” Walker said to the media. “It just goes back to it’s a business you know? At the end of the day you’re going to build relationships. Just because they go to a different team doesn’t mean you can’t be friends with them. Doesn’t mean you can’t hang with them in the offseason. That’s the business aspect of it.”
Wideout Danny Amendola echoed that sentiment, saying he simply does what he can to focus on what he knows amid any craziness.
“I worry about what I can control, and that’s getting ready to play football,” Amendola said. “There’s a lot of business aspect that go into this game too. Like I said, I can only worry about what I can control… I know Diggs was a good football player, great teammate. For that I am thankful I got to play with him. Whatever they decide, they decide.”
Diggs might have been blown away in the moment, but it’s clear several of his teammates understand this is merely just another day in the NFL.
READ NEXT: Antonio Brown Trashes Baker Mayfield Following Comments