The Buffalo Bills could be without their All-Pro wide receiver for at least a little while longer.
Stefon Diggs has been forced to sit out the last week of practice with a lingering knee issue, one that kept him sidelined for the team’s preseason opener on Friday against the Detriot Lions. Bills head coach Sean McDermott said that the ailment could likely keep Diggs out for at least a little while longer, but had some good news about the prognosis.
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Diggs Still Ailing
As Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic noted, McDermott said that Diggs would be missing Sunday’s practice, but did not seem concerned that the knee injury would affect any plans for the regular season.
“McDermott said there isn’t any concern, at this point, that Diggs’ knee injury will linger into the start of the regular season,” Buscaglia tweeted.
Diggs had missed practice during the week and was not active for the team’s 16-15 win over the Lions on Friday, though it is not clear if he would have played even if he were healthy. McDermott kept many starters out of the contest, including quarterback Josh Allen.
The Bills will likely rely heavily on Diggs again in 2021 as they did last season. The 27-year-old had a career-best season, leading the league in both receptions (127) and yards (1,535) with eight touchdowns, earning All-Pro honors.
Bills Offense Dealing With Other Injuries
With Diggs still nursing his injured knee, the Bills got another wide receiver back this week as Veteran wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders returned from an ankle injury. Sanders was one off the biggest additions on offense this offseason, and told BuffaloBills.com that he was excited to join such a talented and motivated group.
“You have a group of guys that are passionate about what they do,” Sanders said. “You might think everybody is passionate about it, but nah. Some guys are just good at it. Passion and being good are two different things. I think in this group, we have a lot of guys who are passionate about what they’re doing. They want to be successful and they’re having fun doing what they love to do.”
While Sanders is back and Diggs appears to be on the way to returning, the Bills are still dealing with other injuries. Buscaglia reported that tight end Tommy Sweeney missed practice and was in a walking boot after Friday’s game. The 26-year-old tight end had missed all of 2020 after a bout with COVID-19 left him with a heart condition known as myocarditis, which is one of the side effects of the infection, but is set to return this season.
“The heart’s obviously a pretty serious thing for us human beings.”
Tommy Sweeney believes he’s moved past his health scare last season with myocarditis, but admits the moment he found out was scary.
“It was kind of a lot at once. Definitely alarming.”
It was not clear whether Diggs or any of the other starters would see much action in the team’s two remaining preseason games. McDermott has stressed that the abbreviated preseason slate will be an important time to evaluate the team’s younger players.
“For this one, we felt like it was important to take a good look at these young players in particular to give them their due,” McDermott said in a press conference earlier in the week. “And this is the first time that with the cuts each week basically after each game, we want to make sure we have a good handle on who we have and what we need to do going forward.”
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Bills Reveal Extent of Stefon Diggs’ Lingering Knee Injury