Stefon Diggs’ absence and return to Bills camp, explained

To paraphrase the late Vince Lombardi: What the hell is going on up there?

“Up there” refers to Buffalo, and specifically the Buffalo Bills. The defending AFC East champions are in the middle of their mandatory minicamp this week, but the past two days have been anything but normal.

Wide receiver Stefon Diggs reported for the minicamp and reportedly underwent a physical, but he did not practice with the team on Tuesday. That was followed by this from head coach Sean McDermott, which certainly raised some eyebrows around the league:

Bills quarterback Josh Allen addressed the issue on Tuesday, and outlined that the team is “working on some things.” Allen also showed support for his teammate, saying “I’ve got his back no matter what.”

Allen described the issues as “not-football related:”

With the Bills set to take the field on Wednesday afternoon, speculation grew over the situation Tuesday night. Would Diggs be back? Would he remain away from the team? A cryptic social-media message from the receiver only added fuel to the fire.

Then came Wednesday, and No. 14 was back on the field, practicing with the team and catching passes from Allen:

Matter settled, right?

Maybe?

Well that certainly clears things up.

Then there was this:

This is fine dot gif.

Meme jokes aside, while most teams do cancel the final day of practice during minicamp and partake in some kind of team-building exercise, the situation remains confusing. However, something McDermott said later in his Wednesday remarks — and something Allen seemed to touch upon Tuesday — might shed some light on the issues. In his comments Tuesday Allen stated that “there’s things that I can do better” regarding the situation.

Then on Wednesday McDermott added this in his remarks:

Could this be a matter of making sure Diggs is involved more in the offense?

Through Buffalo’s first 11 games last season, Diggs saw double-digit targets in seven of those. After seeing 15 targets in the Bills’ Thanksgiving Day win over the Detroit Lions, the receiver did not see double-digit targets until the final game of the season, Buffalo’s Week 18 win over New England.

Then in the playoffs, Diggs saw nine targets against the Miami Dolphins in their Wild Card win.

The following week, the Bills hosted the Cincinnati Bengals, and while Diggs did see 10 targets, he caught just four of those for 35 yards. The receiver was captured late in the game, expressing frustration on the sideline:

If the issue the team is working through stems from Diggs’ frustration over not being the focal point in the passing game down the stretch, that might make some sense. After all, as Allen put it Tuesday, what the Bills do on offense likely does not work without their star receiver.

To be clear, this is speculative, as we do not know exactly what the issues are in Buffalo. They are unlikely to be financial in nature, as Diggs signed a four-year contract extension last season and is under contract with the Bills through 2027. His base salary only escalates over the next two seasons, and he was already paid $23 million this offseason as part of a restructuring move to free up cap space for the team.

While the Bills could — theoretically — trade him there are a number of reasons why that would make almost no sense. First is the financial impact of such a move. Trading Diggs would free up $1.6 million in cap space, but it would also carry $31 million in dead money for next season.

Second is this. Look at their current wide receiver room, and remember what Allen said: “this doesn’t work without him.”

Finally, there is also this notion.

Diggs simply wants to win, and is growing frustrated at the idea that Buffalo’s window could be closing.

After all, the Bills have fallen painfully short since Diggs came to Buffalo. They lost in the AFC Championship game his first season, and in the Divisional Round each of the past few years. Opportunities like this do not come around every season, and Diggs might be getting worried that the Bills failed to capitalize on this window.

While McDermott’s comments this week might cloud the picture, perhaps those issues clear things up. At least a little bit.