The former Minnesota Vikings receiver is downplaying any drama he caused in the past.
For the first time since 2014, the Minnesota Vikings will begin a season without Stefon Diggs on their roster. Diggs is now a member of the Buffalo Bills after the Vikings traded him to the Western New York team back in March.
Things around the NFL are a little delayed this offseason due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, so we haven’t really been given a chance to hear from Diggs that much during the last few months.
On Wednesday, the former Minnesota receiver spoke to the local Buffalo media for the first time and he answered questions that some have had on their minds for a while now.
Stefon Diggs denies saying anything about his problems with the Minnesota Vikings
During the press conference, Diggs was taken aback a bit when one of the reporters mentioned his obvious displeasure with the Vikings and his desire to play elsewhere.
During the middle of a question when it was mentioned that he was, “pretty vocal,” about what he didn’t enjoy about Minnesota, Diggs interrupted and asked what exactly he was vocal about.
Buffalo’s new receiver went on to attempt to clarify to the new bunch of people who will be covering him that he never made it known that he had a problem with the Vikings in the past.
"“I never actually discussed or went over anything as far as my past with Minnesota. I never actually said anything.”"
There’s a bit of truth to what he’s saying, but there’s a bit of untruth as well.
While Diggs never muttered or tweeted the exact phrase “I want out of Minnesota”, he made it pretty well-known that he wasn’t happy with his situation in the Twin Cities.
Following a no-call, no-show incident after the Vikings Week 4 loss to the Chicago Bears last season, Diggs met with the local Minnesota media and did not take the opportunity to deny any of the trade rumors that were circulating following his unexcused absence.
Not showing up to practice or team meetings without letting anyone know and then not denying trade rumors seems like a pretty big indication of him being unhappy with the Vikings.
Then there was Diggs’ tweet following the news of Minnesota signing Kirk Cousins to a new extension back in March. After reports began to spread about Cousins’ new deal, the former Vikings receiver casually posted, “It’s time for a new beginning,” on his Twitter account.
When the Buffalo reporter referred back to this moment as something Bills general manager Brandon Beane mentioned in the past as something that caused them to contact Minnesota and see if they were interested in making a deal, Diggs backpedaled a bit and changed his tune.
"“I never really was too vocal about it. ‘It’s time for a new beginning,’ was enough said.”"
So now he was never really vocal about it? Why didn’t he just tell the truth first that he wasn’t happy with the Vikings and he wanted out?
Look, Diggs is no longer on Minnesota’s roster and he’s on a team that is excited to have him. But his act of pretending to be oblivious to known facts and events is what started a lot of his problems back with the Vikings in the first place.
Now that he’s been traded, Diggs has the opportunity for a fresh start in Buffalo. Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like much has changed since his departure from Minnesota though.