Josh Allen: Stefon Diggs' Situation with Bills Blown 'So Far Out of Proportion'

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen played down any significance to Stefon Diggs' absence when the team opened its mandatory minicamp in June.

Allen told the Bussin' With The Boys podcast the media "has blown this so far out of proportion" and the story "wasn't anything major."

The media wasn't the only party making a note of Diggs' nonattendance, though. Bills head coach Sean McDermott told reporters he was "very concerned, very concerned" when the three-time Pro Bowler wasn't at practice.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported at the time Diggs' contract wasn't the source of the drama and at issue was an "in-house situation that they are on the way to resolving."

As Rapoport alluded to, skipping minicamp or other offseason workouts is a common tactic for players who want a new contract. In Diggs' case, however, he just restructured his deal with the Bills in March.

Under the new terms, the veteran pass-catcher counts for $14.9 million against the salary cap and collects $24.4 million total for the 2023 season, per Over the Cap.

For many fans, the brief drama surrounding Diggs wasn't taken in isolation.

The 29-year-old was visibly frustrated during Buffalo's AFC divisional round loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

He subsequently explained his reaction was based largely on the disappointment of losing a big playoff game.

The Boston Globe's Ben Volin laid out in June how there's a deeper divide between Diggs and the Bills than the team let on.

"Diggs's frustration is with his role in the offense and his voice in play-calling, per a league source close to the Bills' locker room," he wrote.

Volin added how "the issues still hadn't been resolved when the Bills reported for mandatory minicamp on Monday evening."

During an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, ESPN analyst and former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III weighed in and expressed how he thought something has broken down between Diggs and Allen.

To Allen's point, perhaps this story has become much bigger than it needs to be because it's the middle of the offseason. Especially before training camp gets underway, there isn't much to talk about.

But this nonetheless figures to be a subplot surrounding the Bills until the season starts and we can shift our focus to the on-field action.