With basketball now in the rearview mirror, NFL football has once again taken the driver’s seat. Mandatory Minicamp is taking place with teams across the country, with all players expected to be in attendance. An exciting time for this year’s rookies, as they get to meet some of the veterans that didn’t participate in voluntary OTAs and begin building chemistry. It’s also an exciting time for fans, as they get updates from their teams’ media about how things are looking with some of their favorite players.
Unless you’re a fan of the Buffalo Bills, of course.
The Bills are starting their Mandatory Minicamp road a little rocky, thanks to news of star wide receiver Stefon Diggs reportedly not in attendance today. Announcement came from Bills head coach Sean McDermott, and was subsequently reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The reason behind Diggs not showing up has yet to be surmised, but McDermott being “very concerned” about it has left many Bills fans, and football fans in general, speculating the worst.
The last time we saw Diggs, it was during the Divisional Round of the 2023 NFL Playoffs. Diggs was caught on video walking past QB Josh Allen, verbally irate. The Bills ultimately were handed a crushing defeat, a 27-10 blowout loss at home, to the Cincinnati Bengals. While in cold weather conditions they should be used to by now, no less.
Following the end of the playoff game, Diggs took to Twitter to voice his frustrations:
Diggs tweeted, “Want me to be okay with our level of play when it’s not up to the standard ? Nah.”
Diggs is slated to make $24.415 million this year, including a $22.745M signing bonus as part of a contract restructure that happened back in March. That’s a pretty steep dead cap tied to his name means his contract isn’t really tradable from Buffalo’s end. An unusual situation that’s going to be closely monitored.
Sean McDermott's full comments on Stefon Diggs NOT being at #Bills mandatory minicamp:
"Very concerned."#BillsMafia @BuffaloPlus pic.twitter.com/RVC4SrJkTG
— Dan Fetes (@danfetes) June 13, 2023
This was 5 months ago and it’s apparent that things still aren’t fixed in Buffalo for Stefon Diggs. If he causes a big enough stink, the #Bills may not have a choice but to move him out. https://t.co/ibSdpqxZVe pic.twitter.com/IWY5W7Z5mh
— (Super) Mario |#BLM (@NotLuigi89) June 13, 2023