Getty Stefon Diggs attends the Luar fashion show during New York Fashion Week February 2023 on February 15, 2023 in New York City.
Rumors surrounding Stefon Diggs‘ future with the Buffalo Bills have been swirling ever since viewers watched his fourth-quarter outburst toward quarterback Josh Allen during the team’s 27-10 blowout loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in the playoffs and him bolting from the locker room after the game.
The three-time Pro Bowler’s cryptic tweets only fueled trade rumors, as did his younger brother, Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs, publicly pushing for the Bills superstar to come to play alongside him in Dallas. Amid the conjecture, Pro Football Talk‘s Mike Florio reported that Buffalo would get hit with a $34.775 million cap charge if they traded the Diggs before June 1, which seemed to put the rumors to bed.
Even if Buffalo waited, Cover 1 podcast hosts tweeted that cutting him after June 1 would incur a $12 million cap charge for the Bills and an additional $26 million in 2024.
However, discussion over Diggs’ discontent with the team resurfaced on Monday, March 6, as the receiver deleted all of his front-facing Instagram photos in a Bills jersey. However, the 29-year-old regularly cleans out his Instagram page, and around this time last year, he deleted every single photo from the social media app. The move caused a stir since he was in the midst of contract negotiations, but the Bills ultimately re-signed him to a four-year, $96 million extension, after which many of his previously deleted posts eventually reappeared.
Diggs, 29, also posted some cryptic Twitter messages on Monday, which has become custom for the Maryland alum. Diggs, who’s been bouncing around the country during the offseason attending Fashion Week in New York, Milan, and Paris, tweeted a simple “❤️” emoji, before writing, “Protect your peace..” and a text graphic that reads, “TIP FOR TODAY: Control how you respond to things sent to destroy your peace.”
Rumors Swirled That Diggs Unfollowed the Bills’ IG Account, Followed the Cowboys
Amid Diggs’ photo purge, rumors swirled on Twitter claiming he unfollowed the Bills’ official Instagram account and followed the Cowboys’ official page. The NFL veteran does not currently follow the Bills page and does follow the Cowboys, but it’s not clear if he’s always followed his brother’s team on Instagram, or if it’s a new follow. It’s also not clear if Diggs previously followed the Bills page.
Stefon Diggs has apparently unfollowed the Buffalo Bills on IG, while (still?) following the Dallas Cowboys.
Stefon Diggs has appeared to follow the Cowboys and unfollow the Bills on Instagram 👀🍿
Diggs still follows Allen, Dawson Knox, James Cook, Dion Dawkins, and Isaiah McKenzie, among several other Bills players on Instagram, so he didn’t cut off all ties to Buffalo. One fan tweeted, “Stefon Diggs unfollowed the bills and deleted all bills pictures.. but started following my Dallas cowboys.. If he’s traded to us I might cry. But i can’t see it lol.”
Stefon Diggs just followed Shaq Lawson, Zay Jones, and Jordan Porter on Instagram. WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
(probably nothing)
A similar issue popped up before Diggs was traded to the Bills in 2020. CBS Sports analyst Chris Trapasso tweeted in October 2019 that Diggs started following several Bills players, however, it wasn’t clear if he always followed these men, or if they were new follows.
Neither Brandon Beane Nor Sean McDermott Appear Worried About Diggs’ Future in Buffalo
GettyHead coach Sean McDermott of the Buffalo Bills stands with general manager Brandon Beane on the field before a game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on September 8, 2019.
While speaking to the media at the NFL Combine last week, Bills’ general manager Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott expressed nothing but praise for Diggs, per The Buffalo News.
“I love Stef,” McDermott said. “The season gets long and you’re very competitive, and then, all of a sudden, it ends and you’re emotional. So some of that comes up, but when you have time to get away a little bit and gain a little perspective on things, it’s healthy for you. I know it is for me. Stef’s a heck of a football player, and I know we’re a better team with Stef with us and we look forward to having him back here.”
Beane said, “You guys saw him upset after the Cincinnati loss… There’s a lot of emotions. So not everyone handles them in the same way, I’m not going to judge. Ultimately, Stef’s a competitor, and I’ll take competitors all day long… Now’s the best time just to, everybody, take a deep breath. It’s been a long season. Obviously, we all know we went through a lot of a lot of adversity this year. Let’s just all take a pause, take a breath. I have no doubt that at the right time, we’ll all come back and sit down and start preparing for 2023.”
Here’s Stefon Diggs bolting out of the locker room with his stuff just after yesterday’s game. He was one of several players to leave quickly.
Sean McDermott said he was in the locker room when he addressed the team and “that’s what matters most.”
While Diggs will never apologize for being such a passionate competitor, Diggs said he regretted storming out of Highmark Stadium while speaking to E! News last month. If he could do it all over again, “I probably wouldn’t have walked out. It was just a moment of frustration, so much time put in. But that’s the only thing if I could take back I would. Just because I love my guys, and I have utmost respect and appreciation for them, so I hope they understand. And they did.”