The saga between the Buffalo Bills and star receiver Stefon Diggs finally reached a boiling point during the 2023 mandatory minicamp. Reports emerged that Diggs had stormed out, only for the Bills to later reveal that they had actually asked him to leave. Despite the tension, the two sides decided to try and make it work for another season.
Looking back now, perhaps they should have seen the warning signs.
"Last year, I was in the worst mental space I’ve been in since I’ve been in the league," Diggs opened up to Clay Skipper of GQ. "If I’m not in a good space, obviously that’s not the best for me. So that’s when things had to start shaking out."
Initially, it seemed like Diggs and the Bills were on the right track. In the first six games of the season, Diggs put up impressive numbers with 620 receiving yards and five 100-yard performances. However, his production took a nosedive with no game exceeding 87 yards for the rest of the season. The change in offensive coordinator from Ken Dorsey to Joe Brady may have played a part, but Diggs’ performance started declining even before Dorsey was let go.
"You can’t roll out of bed and get 800 yards in the first eight games," Diggs reflected on his early success. "Your best receiver’s doing that. You tell me about the last 10. What changed? Were there changes going on? I just pay attention to what really happened and not what people try to act like happened. Like, for the last 10 games, I forgot how to f***ing play football?"
There was definitely a shift, a change in the air. If Diggs was truly struggling mentally, it’s possible that something happened behind the scenes that finally pushed him over the edge, leading to a decrease in his targets in the passing game.
But now, he finds himself traded once again, marking the fifth time in his career.
"None of those teams wanted to get rid of me," Diggs emphasized. "Things had to shake because I kind of wanted them to shake."
From his first trade out of Minnesota following a cryptic tweet on the same day Kirk Cousins received an extension, to his latest departure from Buffalo, Diggs knew the writing was on the wall.
In the world of American football, the drama never ceases. And for Stefon Diggs, it seems like the rollercoaster ride is far from over.
