Bills HC Sean McDermott 'very concerned' about Stefon Diggs’ absence from minicamp

Bills star Stefon Diggs didn’t show up for Tuesday’s start of a mandatory, three-day minicamp. And his absence has coach Sean McDermott “very concerned.”

It probably wasn’t that much of a surprise with Diggs. After all, he hasn’t participated in any of the Bills’ off-season workout programs. OTAs are voluntary. However, if you’re under contract, participating in mini-camps is mandatory.

Bills' HC Sean McDermott told reporters today that he is "very concerned" that WR Stefon Diggs is not at Buffalo's mandatory minicamp today.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 13, 2023

But Diggs’ agent said the receiver is in town for mini-camp. According to the agent, Diggs underwent a physical, Monday, and met with McDermott and team’s general manager. Diggs planned on participating in the three-day minicamp.

Stefon Diggs’ agent, Adisa Bakari, said his client is in Buffalo, has been in Buffalo since yesterday morning, took his physical, met with the head coach and GM the past two days and the Pro-Bowl WR “will be there for the entirety of the minicamp.”

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 13, 2023

Josh Allen told reporters he’d ‘love’ to have Stefon Diggs in camp

McDermott wouldn’t provide more details when he spoke with the media Tuesday morning. It’s still unclear whether his absence was excused.

Quarterback Josh Allen talked about Stefon Diggs’ situation in late May. “We’d love to have him here.” Allen said. “I’d love to have him here. I understand that, I mean, OTAs aren’t for everybody. And again, it is voluntary at the end of the day.”

McDermott wouldn't go any further into the situation on whether it was an excused absence. https://t.co/XZ0BVHqXHF

— Joe Buscaglia (@JoeBuscaglia) June 13, 2023

Back in March, the Bills restructured Stefon Diggs’ contract to free up some cap space. They did something similar with the contracts for Allen and Von Miller. Diggs’ deal goes through 2027. A year ago, the team and Diggs agreed to a contract extension. It added the four years and $96 million.

He put up terrific numbers in 2022, catching 108 passes for 1,429 yards and 11 touchdowns. He made his third Pro Bowl since joining the Bills from the Vikings back in 2020.

However, Diggs has acted like a disgruntled player for months. In the fourth quarter of the Bills’ playoff loss to the Bengals, cameras caught an animated Diggs yelling at Allen. Then once the game was over, Diggs hurriedly cleaned out his locker and left before the coaches even got there. A teammate talked him into coming back.

He started his career with the Vikings, when Minnesota selected him in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He eventually got crossways with the team bosses. In March 2020, the Vikings traded Diggs and a seventh-rounder to the Bills for a first, fifth and sixth-round picks. Since he arrived in Buffalo, Diggs earned one All-Pro distinction and three invites to the Pro Bowl.

Headed into the fall, Diggs is 1,188 career receiving yards from 10,000 on 871 catches.