The Buffalo Bills went through a lot of drama at minicamp this month and most of it revolved around Stefon Diggs. The Bills receiver showed up to the team's practice facility for minicamp and he even met with coach Sean McDermott at one point, but then he was a no-show for the team's first practice on June 13.
After Diggs missed the practice session, McDermott said he was "very concerned" about his absence. In the end, Diggs did show up for practice on June 14 and after that session, McDermott said everything was "resolved." However, that might not be the case.
Diggs is clearly upset about something and Robert Griffin III has a theory on what that something is. According to the former NFL quarterback, who now works for ESPN, Diggs' biggest issue with the Bills right now is Josh Allen. During a recent interview with Rich Eisen, RG3 said that there's a "personal thing" between Diggs and Allen.
"Him and Josh Allen seemed to have a bromance rolling, it felt like for years there, until there was a problem with their game against the Bengals in the playoffs," RG3 said. "So, I think it's clear, this is a personal thing between Josh and Diggs. And they have to get their partnership back on the field, and that's part of playing quarterback. I think Josh Allen's running into that right now. Everything is fine, until it's not fine in a relationship when it comes to a quarterback and a wide receiver like Diggs. So Josh has to manage that relationship the right way and I think he's the only one that can rectify."
In the 27-10 playoff loss to the Bengals that Griffin is referring to, Diggs got 10 targets from Allen, which was the most by any player on either team. However, it appears that Diggs was upset because Allen only targeted him once on a pivotal 10 play drive in the fourth quarter that ended up leading to zero points after the Bills failed on fourth down.
"So I've talked with people close to the situation, and really, what it boils down to is, in that last game against the Bengals, Diggs was the most targeted receiver in that game. I think he had get 10 targets in that game," RG3 said. "But when they were down 17, they had a 10 play drive that ended in a turnover on downs and Diggs only got one ball thrown his way. So you would think that a player of Diggs' caliber with the relationship that he has with Josh Allen, in those moments, he would look to him more often, and that didn't happen."
After that drive, cameras caught Diggs yelling at Allen on the sideline.
Stefon Diggs exchanging some words with Josh Allen on the sideline pic.twitter.com/J2heSTBMrc
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) January 22, 2023
"I think that was something that why we saw Diggs hold his hands up looking at Josh Allen on the sideline when they had the little tiff that was shown on TV," Griffin said.
As noted by Pro Football Talk, Griffin has the same agent as Diggs, so he might be privy to some information that other people aren't, which makes his comments even more fascinating.
"Diggs wants to win like every other player wants to win and I think that if they can rekindle that bromance -- Josh Allen has to do something to re-light that fire between the two of them -- and I think that will be the key for the Bills to be successful this year," RG3 said.
According to Griffin, if things had been handled differently, then the Bills might not be in the situation they're currently in with Diggs.
"I think this really just came to a head in that playoff game, because in that moment, if it was handled differently, when Diggs had his emotional outburst on the sidelines, if that was handled differently by Josh Allen and the team, I think we wouldn't be talking about this today," RG3 said. "But it wasn't, you know, they kind of ignored him and there was a whole scene after that game. I think that has led to some of these rumblings throughout the offseason."
There's also been a report that Diggs is unhappy with his role in the offense and his lack of a voice in play-calling, and if you throw in the fact that he might also have an issue with Allen, that's a lot of things the Bills need to get figured out with Diggs before the start of training camp, which is exactly one month away (July 26).
Although Diggs seemed frustrated at minicamp, he seems to be in a better mood now that he's vacationing in Paris.
París, I love you 🥂
— DIGGS (@stefondiggs) June 24, 2023
