Getty Stefon Diggs #14 of the Buffalo Bills warms up prior to a game against the New York Jets at Highmark Stadium on December 11, 2022.
Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs may have generated some tensions with the team during his tumultuous offseason, but has turned into a peacemaker during training camp.
The veteran receiver jumped into action this week when a fight broke out between teammates at training camp on August 7. Fights are common at training camp as players battle for position in hot conditions, but Diggs helped make sure it was broken up quickly.
Stefon Diggs and Damar Hamlin Stop Fight
As Ryan O’Halloran of the Buffalo News reported, the Bills made it close to two weeks without any kind of significant fight breaking out. That changed on Monday as a pair of players scrapped during a scrimmage, with Diggs and teammate Damar Hamlin quickly separating the combatants.
“Skirmish! The Bills had their first dustup of camp after a run play in 11-on-11,” O’Halloran wrote. “Right tackle Spencer Brown and middle linebacker Tyrel Dodson got mixed up and Brown lost his helmet.
“The peacemakers were Diggs (who corralled Dodson) and safety Damar Hamlin (who got in front of Brown).”
Matt Parrino of NewYorkUpstate.com noted that Brown had been showing some physicality in his run blocking, leading to a tense exchange with Dodson that grew physical. The initial fight was quickly followed by another, with cornerback Kaiir Elam and wide receiver Trent Sherfield getting mixed up adter a play. The dust-up ended with Elam on the ground with what appeared to be a ripped jersey, Parrino reported.
Things got heated on Monday for Day 10 of #Bills camp:
🔴 Dalton Kincaid, Trent Sherfield, KeeSean Johnson 👐👀
🔴 Spencer Brown & Tyrel Dodson get into it
🔴 Dion Dawkins injury update
🔴 Tyrell Shavers & Alex Austin 📈📈
🔴 Dorian Williams progress
Training camp has been largely clean despite the pair of fights, which Parrino noted was a surprise even to some veteran Bills players.
“Dawson Knox was on WGR 550 on Monday morning and said he was surprised that there weren’t more fights in camp to this point,” Parrino reported. “He said it’s just part of the game when you’re competing against the same guys every day in practice.”
Stefon Diggs Focused in Training Camp
Diggs had been the source of much drama this offseason, starting with his on-field outburst during the team’s playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals and extending for months as he made a series of cryptic posts on social media hinting at his discontent with the team. The drama came to a head with the start of mandatory minicamp, where Diggs was absent the first day.
The team has since worked through the issues, with head coach Sean McDermott walking back a statement that he was “very concerned” about Diggs and saying the next day that his absence was excused.
Diggs later said his only focus is on winning a Super Bowl.
“I’ve been in the league going on my ninth year here right now. I’ve got more football behind me than I do in front of me. My main focus and my only focus is winning. Super Bowls,” Diggs told reporters as training camp opened, via ESPN. “I mean everybody says they want a Super Bowl, but we’ve had legitimate chances at this thing.”
Diggs went on to explain that he was unhappy with the way the previous season ended, but ultimately hashed out his issues with the coaching staff.
“We’ve had everything that we needed,” Diggs said. “As far as us not getting over the hump, I feel like it’s always asked for or cause for a conversation. And I always wanted to have a conversation. And we have an open-door policy. Coach [Sean McDermott] will tell you he has an open-door policy. And I’ve had those conversations.”