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Bills WR Stefon Diggs Reportedly Frustrated By Role In Offense, Input In Play-Calling

June 18th, 2023 at 10:25pm CST by Rory Parks

While Bills quarterback Josh Allen recently classified the source of wide receiver Stefon Diggs‘ discontent with the team as “not football related,” Ben Volin of the Boston Globe has heard otherwise. Volin, citing a source “close to the Bills’ locker room,” says that Diggs is frustrated with his role in the club’s offense and his input in play-calling.

Diggs did not participate in April workouts, but since those sessions were voluntary, there was no real reason to think much of his absence, despite plenty of speculation that he was unhappy. Alarm bells did go off in earnest on the first day of mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, when Bills head coach Sean McDermott told the media that Diggs was not in attendance and that he was “very concerned” as a result.

Shortly thereafter, Diggs’ agent, Adisa Bakari, pointed out that his client had met with McDermott and GM Brandon Beane over the prior two days, and on Wednesday — when Diggs participated in practice but not in team drills — McDermott definitively declared the matter resolved and said Diggs’ Tuesday absence was excused.

McDermott’s sudden about-face did not do much to quell the rumblings about Diggs’ frustration, especially since we still have not heard from the player himself. Volin’s report, which was published today, has added a little context, but there is still plenty of uncertainty.

Indeed, as Volin notes, Diggs was ranked in the top-five in targets (154), receptions (108), yards (1,429), and touchdowns (11) in 2022. Since coming to Buffalo via trade prior to the 2020 season, Diggs’ 484 targets are second only to Raiders wideout Davante Adams. As such, it is difficult to see how the Bills could increase his role in the offense, though Volin also observes that, over the final six contests of the 2022 campaign (including playoffs), Diggs averaged only 63 yards per game and caught just one TD pass. After the team’s divisional-round loss to the Bengals in January — a game in which he recorded four catches for 35 yards — Diggs stormed out of the locker room before some coaches had arrived and needed to be brought back.

As for Diggs’ reported discontent with his voice in Buffalo’s offensive play-calling, Volin simply said that the Maryland product may not have “connected as well” with OC Ken Dorsey as he had with Brian Daboll, who left the Bills to take the Giants’ HC job last year. Still, even if the Bills were inclined to part ways with their star receiver — which the Super Bowl-ready club is certainly not — it would be difficult to imagine Diggs finding a better situation for himself.

McDermott ultimately cancelled the third and final day of mandatory minicamp on Thursday, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). Therefore, we will likely need to wait until sometime in training camp to hear Diggs’ take on the situation and where he currently stands.

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