Stefon Diggs a no-show at Buffalo Bills’ mandatory minicamp

Since the end of the 2022 NFL season, when the Buffalo Bills were unceremoniously eliminated from the playoffs via a thorough drubbing from the Cincinnati Bengals on their home turf, much of the discussion has centered around wide receiver Stefon Diggs’ behavior in that game. Clearly Diggs was unhappy in the immediate moment, but has his discontent boiled over into the new season?

When the team’s voluntary workouts came due on the calendar, Diggs was absent — which is normal for him despite the attention it repeatedly gets. However, as of Tuesday, June 13, Stefon Diggs was a no-show for the first day of Bills mandatory mini camp. WIVB Sports Director Josh Reed was the first to break the news, saying “head coach Sean McDermott says Stefon Diggs is not here but everyone else is. He says he’s very concerned about that.”

But think again back to January’s playoff loss to the Bengals. Recall what was Diggs’ final, lasting image from the 2022 NFL season — his being visibly upset and yelling at quarterback Josh Allen during the AFC Divisional Round game. Once the game ended, Diggs quickly grabbed his belongs from his locker and attempted to leave before coaches made their way into the locker room. Reportedly, running back Duke Johnson convinced Diggs to return to the locker room, though he didn’t speak to the assembled media and left again a few minutes later.

Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane traded the Bills’ first-, fifth- and sixth-round picks in 2020 and a 2021 fourth-round pick to the Minnesota Vikings, to bring Diggs to One Bills Drive. Since that moment, Diggs has been the clear WR1. He has had at least 100 catches in every season in Buffalo with at least eight touchdowns in each campaign. In regards to yards, he has had at least 1,200 yards with the team as well, which ranks in the upper tier of the league.

Shortly after the news broke, this nugget from WGRZ Sports Director Adam Benigni entered the chat: “Sources (Bills/NFL writer Vic Carucci) and I have confirmed Stefon Diggs was at team headquarters for pre-minicamp medical testing yesterday. Again, he has not reported for day one of the #Bills mandatory minicamp.”