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The fourth day of Buffalo Bills training camp got intense between star wide receiver Stefon Diggs and the team’s 2022 first-round pick, Kaiir Elam, on Wednesday, July 27. During practice at St. John Fisher College, the two needed to be separated after things got a little too heated.
News 4 Buffalo’s Heather Prusak tweeted, “Stefon Diggs vs Kaiir Elam 1-on-1 is definitely a highlight of practice. They 2 went against each other twice today. First time Elam was very physical, looks like he held Diggs and 14 was not happy about it. They were some post play words, one of the other DBs had to break it up.”
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WGR 550’s Sal Capaccio, who also attended Wednesday’s practice, shared a similar run down of the situation. Capaccio tweeted, “First rep of one-on-ones. Looked like Elam held Diggs. Stefon did not like it at all. They were holding each other close and definitely having an animated conversation. One of the other DBs made sure it didn’t go any further.”
Capaccio also noted that that wasn’t the first time that the veteran and the rookie have exchanged words. “This is the second day in a row Diggs and Elam barked at each other a bit,” he tweeted. “Yesterday, Stefon stared him down and had a few words on his way back to the huddle after a contested play.”
Players getting frustrated during practice is nothing new and Diggs, 28, a team captain, is likely giving the 21-year-old cornerback some tough love to quickly fix his rookie mistakes. Elam is projected to be a starter in Week 1 while Tre’Davious White recovers from an injury, which means the pressure is on for the young cornerback to quickly acclimate to the NFL.
Fans Had a Strong Reaction to the Elam/Diggs Altercation on Twitter
The non-physical altercation between the Bills’ two-time Pro Bowler and the team’s No. 23 overall pick got fans on Twitter pumped. Numerous people were impressed by Elam’s grit while others noted that if the rookie can get a private lesson on how defend one of the best route runners in the NFL, he will be a huge asset once the regular season starts.
One man tweeted, “I love that our own players can have this fierce competition between them. Even the occasional scuffle between offense vs defense is good, just makes them battle even harder,” while another person commented, “Iron sharpens Iron!”
“It’s pretty awesome for Elam that his hardest matchup on the year might be practice weekly,” a fan wrote, while another person tweeted, “Elam might got that dawg in him and i hope so !”
Veteran Micah Hyde Is Impressed By What Elam Is Already Bringing to the Table
After Day 3 of training camp, Elam got the seal of approval from veteran safety Micah Hyde, who already has a nickname for the rookie cornerback. “I think with K he’s been fortunate enough to be put in a position, whether it’s the coaches we have in the secondary on defense or even the players, he’s able to step in right now with some guys that have been together for a long time,” Hyde said, per the Bills’ reporter Maddy Glab.
“So, he hears what we’re talking about, he hears how we see things in meetings. He can paint the picture himself just by asking the questions that he asks. I can’t speak for him, but I feel like if I’m a young guy in his position, I’d be really fortunate to step into that position. And we’re not asking him to be anything that he’s not, just go out there and play your ball.”
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