Stefon Diggs, Sean McDermott 'in a good spot' as Bills training camp begins

Bills fans had every right to be anxious when Sean McDermott called out receiver Stefon Diggs, saying he was “very concerned” that the Bills receiver didn’t attend the first day of mini camp.

But that was so June. Now it’s late July and the Buffalo head coach and its leading wideout find themselves “in a good spot.” That’s basically coach speak for out of the dog house.

“We’re in a good spot (and) Stef is ready to practice,” McDermott told reporters, Wednesday. “He is in the locker room right now.”

That’s indeed good news for all the BillsMafia folks who are ready for Buffalo to go the Super Bowl. Back in January, they wanted the same. But the Bills looked listless in a snowy, playoff home loss to the Bengals. Diggs compounded problems when cameras found him on the sideline, screaming at quarterback Josh Allen.

Then once the game was over, Diggs cleaned out his locker and vanished, leaving before the coaches even got there. A teammate talked him into returning.

Hangovers from bad playoff losses can linger for weeks. But it seems that the Bengals malaise continued to impact Diggs for months. It’s probably why Stefon Diggs and Sean McDermott caused confusion at the start of minicamp last month. Diggs was in the building and had taken a physical when the coach talked of his concern for him. He didn’t miss any more minicamp.

“Everyone has family issues, everyone has family problems in the house,” Diggs told reporters. “Obviously, the way we lost was just terrible in any regard. You don’t want to loss any game. (But) we’ve lost for a couple of years at this point. We’ve been trying to get over the hump and obviously it caused a lot of frustration, but in all as far as with that I was here.

“We did have a conversation,” he said of his interactions with McDermott. “It’s all water under the bridge now. I attribute it to like family matters. I don’t like dancing around things, and I don’t like those kinds of questions. Everyone has family matters, we had a conversation, all is well. Water under the bridge now and we’re back at work.”

Stefon Diggs spoke for about 20 minutes. He was very forthcoming and candid. But I think these three minutes were the most telling #BillsMafia @WKBW pic.twitter.com/gmfUPgstQb

— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) July 26, 2023

McDermott certainly couldn’t be displeased with Diggs’ production. He caught 108 passes for 1,429 yards and 11 touchdowns last season. And he made his third Pro Bowl since joining the Bills from the Vikings back in 2020.

“I look at football like it’s a business at the end of the day,” Diffs said. “But when you go out there and fight tooth and nail, you put a lot of sweat equity into this thing it starts to feel like a family. So, for me I kind of keep everything in house. At the end of the day, we had those conversations and everything that needed to be said was said and we talked it out as men everybody involved.”