Heading into his second season with the Buffalo Bills, Stefon Diggs has acknowledged what everyone already knew about his ending with the Minnesota Vikings.
After being traded there by the Minnesota Vikings, Stefon Diggs’ first season with the Buffalo Bills went quite well in 2020. All he did was lead the league in catches (127) and yards (1,535), as the No. 1 receiver quarterback Josh Allen clearly needed to reach a new level.
Diggs’ tenure with the Vikings seemed to deteriorate quickly. As his frustration built during the 2019 season, including absence from practice when he wasn’t deemed injured, he said “there’s truth to all rumors” in regard to trade speculation around him.
The roots of Diggs’ frustration certainly surrounded his usage, and perhaps more broadly his issues with the Vikings’ run-first offensive philosophy. Quarterback Kirk Cousins was an easy, if not entirely spoken, target of his ire.
Stefon Diggs acknowledges what everyone already knew
Diggs was named a Bills’ captain this week, which is a sign his teammates see him as a leader. Seemingly unprompted to reflect in that way, he talked about the end of his time with the Vikings within that context, while citing his fresh start in Buffalo.
“Coming from my old team — I hate talking about old stuff — but up to me wanting to leave and wanting to go to another place, I was a great teammate,” “It wasn’t until I wanted to do something else is when I became a bad teammate. So as far as when things aren’t going good, you know, it’s all good until it’s not good.” So for me, even then, I always tried to play with a chip on my shoulder and lead my team the best way I know how. Coming here I had a fresh start. It was fair for people to make their assumptions or their assessments from the outside looking in. That’s fair. I just look at it as in, when I get there I’ll show them who I am and we’ll go from there. As far as my new chapter with my new team, things are going pretty good and trying to keep it that way.”
Diggs is better off in Buffalo, and the Vikings got Justin Jefferson with the extra first-round pick they got in the trade. That’s called a win-win.
Diggs is not the first pro athlete, nor will he be anywhere near the last, to have a mindset or attitude deterioration when they grow frustrated and want leave their current team. But he is not uncovering anything that wasn’t already known, based on the visibility of his own actions. It may have been “talking about old stuff” to try and offer a revelation about becoming a bad teammate in Minnesota, but it was obvious to anyone who paid attention from the outside–no “assumptions” needed.