Bills HC Sean McDermott Clarifies Situation With Stefon Diggs

Bills HC Sean McDermott wanted to “provide better clarity for all” on the situation with WR Stefon Diggs that took off after he said Tuesday he was “very concerned” about the receiver’s absence from minicamp.

McDermott said Diggs’ absence was excused and he felt the two sides needed a break after some hard but necessary conversations earlier in the day. 

“Let me be clear: Stef did everything he was asked to do,” McDermott said via Katherine Fitzgerald. 

Regarding McDermott’s “very concerned” wording on Tuesday, the coach explained that would be his sentiment with any player who misses practice for personal or injury-related reasons, per Fitzgerald.

McDermott said they are in a “good spot” with Diggs and he appreciates him as a leader. He later called the situation “resolved” per Sal Capaccio.

“We’re at a place where we’re now in a good spot. I appreciate what Stef had to say and he’s an important part of this team. He’s a leader. Things have been said that aren’t fair. So I wanted to provide clarity,” he said via Chris Brown.

There were conflicting messages yesterday from McDermott, the team and Digg’s agent regarding what has been a weird situation, so this was clearly an attempt from McDermott to get everyone back on the same page. 

He declined to go into the specifics of what the conversations with Diggs were about, except to say via Capaccio, “We all want the same thing. That’s what we kept coming back to. We all want to win.”

Regardless of what McDermott says, this still feels like a situation to watch going forward. 

Diggs, 29, is a former fifth-round pick of the Vikings back in 2015. He was in the final year of his rookie contract when he agreed to a five-year extension worth $72 million with the Vikings in 2018. 

The Vikings traded Diggs to the Bills in 2020 for a package of draft picks including a first-round selection. 

Diggs was set to make base salaries of $11.775 million and $11.85 million over the final two years of his deal in 2022 and 2023 when Buffalo signed him to a four-year, $104 million extension last offseason. 

In 2022, Diggs appeared in 16 games and recorded 108 receptions on 154 targets for 1,429 yards (13.2 YPC) and 11 touchdowns. 

We’ll have more on Diggs as the news is available.