Getty Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs at MetLife Stadium on September 11, 2023.
Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs is taking on the rumors that he wanted out of Buffalo, calling out what he called “misconception” about his status with the team.
Diggs became the center of rumors and speculation throughout the offseason, starting with the team’s playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals when he was seen growing animated with quarterback Josh Allen on the sidelines. Diggs followed it up with months of cryptic posts on social media, with the drama coming to a head at the start of the team’s mandatory minicamp in June when he was sent home on the first day.
Both Diggs and the team have insisted that there were no serious issues, and now the All-Pro wide receiver is addressing the rumors head-on.
Stefon Diggs: ‘I Never Said That’
Appearing with teammate Von Miller on his VonCast, Diggs said the reports that he wanted to force his way out of Buffalo were entirely fabricated.
Diggs added that he was simply frustrated with the way the season ended, with a 27-10 loss to the Bengals at home as the offense struggled.
Stefon Diggs on @VonMiller pod on misconceptions created this offseason: “You go through a 20-game season and the last image of me and Josh-a picture’s worth a thousand words… the common misconception was that I wanted to leave.. but I never said that.”
“You go through a 20-game season and the last image of me and Josh — a picture’s worth a thousand words,” Diggs said, adding, “For me, I felt like the common misconception is I wanted to leave. But it was like, I never said that.”
There had been some speculation throughout the offseason that the Bills could consider trading Diggs. In a June 19 episode of Broncos Country Tonight, NFL insider Benjamin Albright said the team was growing privately open to the idea of moving Diggs — if the price was right.
“I talked to some people in Buffalo on the condition of anonymity and they said that, ‘Publicly, we’re not moving him. Privately, we would consider it under the right circumstances,’” Albright said.
Stefon Diggs Back in Buffalo
Though his absence on the first day of minicamp raised concern, Bills head coach Sean McDermott explained that it was an excused absence and Diggs has been a full participant since then — often enthusiastically.
In a September 7 appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Diggs said he was looking forward to the upcoming season and had high hopes that the team could put aside the heartbreak from last year’s finish.
“This year I feel like we’re doing a great job at just kind of falling under the radar,” Diggs said. “And as a team, we’ve been real high but we haven’t accomplished the goal. But you take it one game at a time, one season at a time. We’ve got a new opportunity, brand new season, spanking new season to go put some good things on tape and show what you could do as an offense and as a team. So for me like, yeah, that’s big picture, but see the forest, through the trees, and it starts with game one.”
Diggs has been a standout performer through the first two games making a total of 17 receptions for 168 yards and one touchdown as the Bills got off to a 1-1 record.