Buffalo Bills star wideout Stefon Diggs was a no-show for Day 1 of the team’s mandatory minicamp on Tuesday.
Bills head coach Sean McDermott told reporters early in the day that he was “very concerned” with Diggs’ absence. Later in the day, All-Pro quarterback Josh Allen shed some light on what might be happening, saying he and Diggs were “working on some things,” adding the issues were “not football-related.”
Diggs was at the facility Tuesday morning but departed before the start of practice. The Bills confirmed that Diggs took part in pre-minicamp medical testing on Monday.
Agent Adisa Bakari told ESPN that Diggs met with McDermott and Bills general manager Brandon Beane the past two days and “will be there for the entirety of the minicamp.”
Save for the part where Diggs left before Tuesday’s practice.
Enter Allen’s role in the drama.
“Internally, we’re working on some things,” Allen told reporters Tuesday afternoon after practice. “Not football-related. Stef, he’s my guy. I f—— love him. He’s a brother of mine. This does not work, what we’re doing here, without him.”
When asked what he meant by not football-related, Allen said it was more about “teamwork.”
“There’s things I could do better to help out with this process and try to get him back here and be the Buffalo Bill that he’s meant to be. … There are some things that could have gone better last year and didn’t,” Allen said. “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.”
Diggs skipped the team’s entire offseason program, but those sessions were all voluntary until Monday.
Diggs signed a four-year, $96 million extension in April 2022. He’s set to make $24.415 million in 2023. That puts him fifth among all wide receivers for the 2023 season, per Spotrac.
Diggs carries a dead cap hit of $45.5 million this season, making him untradeable.
Diggs, 29, caught 108 passes for 1,429 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2022. His catches ranked fourth in the NFL, his yards fifth and his TD receptions tied for third.
He made the Pro Bowl all three seasons in Buffalo after a March 2020 trade from Minnesota. He has 703 catches for 8,812 yards and 59 TDs in 119 career games (111 starts) for the Vikings and Bills. He was selected in the fifth round of the 2015 draft by the Vikings.