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The Buffalo Bills are on break until training camp kicks off at the end of the July, but concern over the rollercoaster of drama regarding Stefon Diggs‘ bizarre absence on Day 1 and head coach Sean McDermott telling reporters he was “very concerned” continues to linger.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen was asked about the Diggs situation during an appearance on “Bussin’ With the Boys,” which was recorded on June 21, about a week after Bills mandatory minicamp ended, and the 27-year-old was clearly frustrated that this was still a story.
“I love him. That’s my guy,” Allen said in the interview which premiered on Monday, July 3. “The media has blown this so far out of proportion. We’re in minicamp, we’re not playing a game for four months. He doesn’t show up one day. He’s still there, you know, coach asked him to go home.”
“We were in talks and discussions of trying to resolve some things, and it wasn’t anything major… And the media just blew it up. And they’re still talking about it. Let it go. There’s no reason to continue talking about it. He’s on the field with us the next day. It was not a big deal.”
Later in the interview, Allen explained that Diggs has an ignitable personality regardless of the situation. “Stef is hyped up on game days,” Allen said when asked about his No. 1 wide receiver yelling at him on the sidelines during their playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
“He’ll yell at me for good, he’ll yell at me for bad. I want that from him. I want him to tell me what’s going on… When things are goin good, he’s yelling at someone because he’s hyped up and he wants to see someone do something. It is what is. He’s one of the best receivers in the game. He’s my brother right there and everything else is behind us.”
Fans & Analysts Had Strongly Mixed Reactions to Josh Allen’s Answer
While much of Bills Mafia is ready to move on from caring about what caused Diggs and the Bills to get “to a point where we just felt like we all needed a break and some space,” as McDermott described, others didn’t appreciate Allen blaming the media for the situation becoming a big deal.
One fan tweeted, “‘Media blew it up’- bills gave no info to go on so all there was is speculation. So media doing their job then,” while another person disagreed and wrote, “Classic media just trying to get a story out. Smdh!!! They don’t wanna see us win baby!!!”
Talking Buffalo host Patrick Moran tweeted, “I dunno Josh. Maybe you should also hold your head coach accountable for getting in front of the big evil media and saying, literally word for word ‘I’m concerned. I’m concerned.’ It’s fun to blame the media for everything but it’s the H.C. who dropped the ball at minicamp.”
Buffalo Rumblings‘ contributor Fernando H. Schmude tweeted, “Is it major? It’s relative. It’s obviously something otherwise wouldn’t have been any drama by Diggs. Whatever it is, Josh doing his part as a team leader/captain, downplaying it to the media and solving it behind close doors, the right way to do so.”
Allen previously tried to squash the situation while talking to reporters after practice on June 11. “Internally, we’re working on some things. Not football-related. Stef, he’s my guy. I f****** love him… This does not work, what we’re doing here, without him… I’ve got his back not matter what.”
“There are some things that could have gone better last year and didn’t,” Allen continued. “I think, as an organization, maybe not communicating the right way with everything. Just trying to talk and listen at the same time, hear him out and just try to move this forward as quickly and respectfully as possible.”
The Bills’ Public Mess With Stefon Diggs Could’ve Been Avoided
If McDermott simply said Diggs’ absence was excused on Day 1, this wouldn’t have turned into such an ordeal. While the Bills head coach said everything was basically “resolved” one day later, it’s hard for many to trust that sentiment.
During an appearance on “Talking Buffalo,” The Athletic’s Tim Graham said the flip-flopping of information was a rare loss for Bills’ culture. “If this wasn’t planned or expected or not well thought out before McDermott sat down on Tuesday, that in and of itself is a failure… self-inflicted wound, after self-inflicted wound, after self-inflicted wound from what McDermott said, to the Bills tweeting it out as though it were breaking news with a photo of Diggs looking like he’s got an attitude and making sure that the “C” is on the shirt so you can see that he’s a captain – you could’ve used any photo!… A generic photo of a Bills helmet.”
“Bad week for Bills culture,” Graham concluded. And while we may never know why Diggs was upset, “This was a mess that didn’t have to happen.”
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