Discord is threatening to dethrone one of many AFC’s titans.
The Buffalo Bills have a 37-12 report the previous three common seasons. They’ve received three straight AFC East titles. They performed in a single convention championship recreation and had been 13 seconds away from reaching one other.
But head coach Sean McDermott can kiss that run goodbye if he doesn’t repair the underlying points behind this week’s Stefon Diggs drama that every one began, it seems, due to McDermott’s personal rhetoric about his star vast receiver.
One day, Diggs was absent from the Bills’ minicamp follow and McDermott was confirming: “Stef is not here. Everybody else is here at the current time.”
Asked if he was involved, McDermott mentioned: “Very concerned. yeah. Very concerned.”
Only Diggs was there, apparently.
His agent launched an announcement to ESPN after McDermott’s press convention saying that “Diggs has been in Buffalo since yesterday morning, took his physical, met with the head coach and GM the past two days, and will be there for the entirety of the minicamp.”
Something was off, which quarterback Josh Allen confirmed.
“I know internally we’re working on some things, not football related,” Allen mentioned. “Stef, he’s my guy. I f—king love him. He’s a brother of mine. This does not work, what we’re doing here, without him… I’ve got no doubts that we will figure out what’s going on… There’s things I could do better to help out with this process and try to get him back here.”
Diggs did find yourself again on the sector at a minicamp follow, catching passes from Allen. And McDermott held a follow-up presser to “provide better clarity for all.”
“Stef did everything that he was asked to do,” McDermott mentioned. “He was right here Monday and executed his bodily on time. Stef reported yesterday, Tuesday, and reported for conferences, at which era we had an excellent dialog, nice communication, and we received to some extent yesterday the place I simply — we simply felt like all of us wanted a break and a few house.
“So I gave Stef permission to get some space and head out, and then picked up those conversations after practice,” McDermott added. “So let me make it clear: it was not Stef leaving unexcused. He was excused by me. So those conversations have gotten us to where I think is a great spot.”
An excellent spot? That’s some high quality NFL spin proper there.
That’s most likely not the suitable description of a franchise that, regardless of its latest success of roster-building and common season profitable, has began to point out loads of regarding cracks in recent times. And it goes manner above Diggs.
Consider this: The offseason that Brian Daboll received the Giants head teaching job, it’s believed that Daboll was planning to go away the Bills’ offensive coordinator put up regardless because of the untenable scenario in Buffalo.
Then this offseason, Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier stepped away from McDermott’s workers to take a yr off — however not as a result of he wished to cease teaching.
Granted, McDermott simply led the Bills to a 13-3 report final season, guided his group by means of the Damar Hamlin scare, and nonetheless has one of many higher groups on paper due to GM Brandon Beane’s drafting of Allen in 2018.
Diggs generally is a difficult character, too. And actually, after seeing Diggs screaming at Allen throughout Buffalo’s 27-10 divisional playoff loss to Cincinnati, it’s honest to guess that the vast receiver stays annoyed with the dearth of his involvement on this group’s greatest video games.
Here are Diggs’ numbers within the Bills’ two elimination video games the previous two years: Three catches for seven yards towards the Kansas City Chiefs in January 2022. Four catches for 35 yards towards the Bengals in January 2023.
With Diggs’ $14.8 million cap hit this yr that jumps to $27.8 million in 2024, the Bills merely can not rationalize that utilization of him when their season is on the road.
Above all, although, what all the Buffalo noise the previous couple of years appears to have in frequent is a few kind of friction with McDermott.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Free agent vast receiver DeAndre Hopkins visited the Tennessee Titans and New England Patriots this week however nonetheless hasn’t signed with any group. … Raiders operating again Josh Jacobs, who hasn’t signed his franchise tag tender, tweeted: “Sometimes it’s not about you. We gotta do it for the ones after us.” Saquon Barkley hasn’t signed his franchise tag both and mentioned just lately {that a} holdout is perhaps an possibility, and he referenced Jacobs and Cowboys RB Tony Pollard’s getting tagged as a manner that NFL groups have suppressed the place’s market. Then Ravens again JK Dobbins staged a ‘hold in’ at Baltimore’s obligatory minicamp, reporting to the constructing however not training as a result of he desires a brand new contract, based on WJZ-TV in Baltimore. It will likely be fascinating to see whether or not this coordinated effort by some large names at operating again will assist them obtain extra for themselves and others sooner or later.
GIANTS ROUNDUP: BIG YEAR FOR BIG CAT
Defensive lineman Leonard Williams mentioned there haven’t been many talks about his contract or $32.2 million cap hit this season, however he added: “I want to be able to be here.” The downside is that received’t be his name. Williams, 28, seemed like an apparent candidate to probably obtain a pay reduce or contract restructure this spring. With the Giants not shifting a single greenback previous the ultimate yr of his present deal, the writing is on the wall that Williams’ time right here may very well be up after 2023, if not by means of a midseason commerce relying on how the group fares. Williams mentioned he likes the “great rotation” of D-line depth the Giants have tried to create behind him and Dexter Lawrence to hopefully scale back their snaps and preserve them contemporary. He additionally mentioned the neck damage that nagged him late final season is best and didn’t require surgical procedure. He hopes to bounce again from the primary injury-plagued yr of his profession and persuade the Giants he nonetheless belongs. “It’s going to be fun,” he mentioned. “I’ve been through the grind and the struggle of being with the Giants since I’ve been here. [Now I’m hoping I’m] coming out on the good end, eventually getting a ring with them.” … Rookie third-round vast receiver Jalin Hyatt was noticeably buried on the depth chart all spring. The Tennessee product will face an uphill climb, it seems, to earn the coaches’ belief to obtain significant snaps. For now, he’s most likely projecting as a specialised and situational downfield risk till he develops extra. His coaching camp will likely be fascinating to observe. … It seems like nook Adoree Jackson is anticipated to be OK after The Athletic seen Jackson injure his left ankle on a deep go to Parris Campbell at Wednesday’s closing Giants spring follow. … Eli Manning hosted the Guiding Eyes for the Blind Annual Golf Classic final Monday at Mount Kisco Country Club to assist these with imaginative and prescient loss and impairment. The two-time Super Bowl Champion is a long-time supporter of Guiding Eyes, which offers expertly-trained information canines to individuals with visible impairment, for gratis, permitting people and households to expertise larger independence. The golf outing and dinner program was full of golf, meals & prizes and, after all, wonderful pups.
THEY SAID IT
“It reminded me of the Seinfeld episode where Costanza quits his job on a Friday and shows up on Monday pretending that nothing happened.” — Mike Florio of “ProFootballTalk” on McDermott’s about-face dealing with the Diggs absence
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Source: www.bostonherald.com