Bradley Gelber, The Bills Wire Reporter

Bradley, appreciate the time. How are you? I'm doing well.

Thanks for having me on. It's been an interesting day for sure. Yeah, this is confusing.

I don't get what Stefan Diggs is trying to accomplish here. How do you kind of react to everything that has transpired just today in the last 24 hours? Yeah, you know, it's definitely, I think, one of those things where people are trying to maybe take away what's actually going on, right?

Because every, it felt like every 15 minutes or so, another piece of the story was unfolding and it was kind of updating in real time one of those things. And it's turning into a he said, she said type of deal here. And, you know, it's not been like that in Buffalo, right? Because Brandon Bean and Sean McDermott have been in charge. That's like the Rex Ryan days.

That's like the old days of the Bills before they were any good. And this isn't something we've seen any sort of drama, anything like that. So, you know, today was a little surprising to hear Sean McDermott really come out and be transparent with, you know, being openly concerned. And then, you know, we hear later from Stefan Diggs agent that, you know, he was confused as to why was Sean McDermott saying that during the press conference? And, you know, I think it's just one of those things where you're trying to kind of figure out, OK, well, are we getting the full story? Who's who's in the right? Who's who's being transparent here? And then, you know, Josh Allen and Bond Miller are talking about it later on. So I just think there's a lot unfolding at once and there's a lot to try to kind of interpret from from the situation. Not that I really care about mandatory minicam because I've covered them before.

They're usually monotonous and irrelevant. But this is mandatory. And I know he was in the building, but he wasn't on the field. It kind of I don't see us. Stefan Diggs looks good here because you either got in a fight in that meeting, stormed off and didn't tell me you were going to come to practice or you told them you weren't going to go to practice. And still I had a I had a fight with with the organization. That's kind of the way that I'm looking at it right now.

Yeah. You know, I think it's one of those things where I don't know anyone's concern per se about him being there in June. Other than the fact that it's mandatory, like you said, I mean, Josh Allen said in his press conference today, you know, we're not playing a game tomorrow.

Like this is it's June. But at the same time, everyone else on your team is there. And I think that's the thing I look at it as is Stefan Diggs is supposed to be one of the top leaders on this team. I mean, you know, there's quite a few veterans on this team.

It's not all young players, but one of the positions that they're probably the shallowest in is wide receiver. And he's the top wide receiver and he's not there. So I think part of that is kind of what the concern becomes is, you know, is he sending the wrong message to the rest of the team? And why is he choosing to send this message?

What happened? And, you know, is he going to show up? I mean, that's the other thing is, is he going to show up on Wednesday? Some people think now there's a good chance he will be there on Wednesday. Is he just going to blow off many camp all together and not be there till training camp? I mean, every time something more happens, I think that that next piece of the puzzle is like, OK, well, he wasn't showing up to the voluntary practices, which is not new for him. But you had fans already that were a little like uneasy about that just because of we all saw how the playoffs ended for the Bills last year and how animated digs was on the sideline there with Josh Allen. And that didn't really sit well with fans in the offseason. And then he's not showing up for voluntary camp.

And it's OK, relax a little bit. But now it's mandatory and, you know, he's not there. So I think that's when it's now going to keep being a bigger story till maybe he finally shows up.

Bradley Gelber here with us. And when we try to delve into what he's mad about, like you said, we all saw how it ended last year. You should be frustrated.

You should be annoyed if you were in the in the shoes of Stefan Diggs. But contractually, he just got taken care of. His numbers were still tremendous last year. You would think throughout the offseason, not that you ever let go of how last season ended, but you would show up and put your best foot forward to try to fix what happened at the end of last year, this year. And today they didn't accomplish that.

Right. And, you know, that's the confusing part, I think, is if it really comes down to him being upset about, you know, it sounded like some people were saying perhaps part of him being upset was he felt the Bills, you know, took a step back last year or they did it. They weren't transparent with him on how the team plans to address what they went through last year, how they're going to take that next step forward. Because we all know Stefan Diggs is getting older now in his career, and he came to Buffalo to win a Super Bowl. And early on here, it looked like they were very close to doing that.

And obviously last year they had a bit of an earlier exit back in the playoffs again. So if that really was what was kind of eating at him, you'd think there's been enough time, you know, in between the end of the season and now that they could have addressed that before we all of a sudden got to mandatory minicamp. But it sounded like his agent was saying today that they were in the, you know, in the process of working out what was left over here and that he was a little surprised. Sean McDermott said what he said because this had been going on behind the scenes for a bit now that they had been talking through whatever the issue was. And it sounded like, you know, of course, Josh Allen and Bob Miller are going to downplay it, saying they're not worried about it and it's June. But yeah, if that really is what was eating at him, wouldn't you want to be here to try to help your team win?

And I get it. Like he's not, you know, he's a veteran. He's been around a long time. A minicamp practice isn't going to be the difference between them winning the Super Bowl or not. But again, it sets a precedent for the younger players, and he is a leader on this team.

So as you said, I don't know he's accomplishing anything in terms of helping them win by not being there. Bradley Gelber here with us who covers the Buffalo Bills for USA Today. So we know he's not going anywhere right now because he just signed the contract and what the dead cat money is.

But can the Bills trust him anymore? Yeah, you know, that's, you know, that's the thing because we don't we don't really know what's going on behind the scenes here. And it feels like, you know, the thing I guess I was most confused with today was if Sean McDermott knew that Stefan Diggs was in the building yesterday and this morning. Why the way he phrased what he said was very ambiguous.

And if it was on purpose, it felt almost like was he trying to send a message through the media? Was he saying something the way he said it? I said that on Twitter and I had some people saying back to me, well, you know, maybe Sean McDermott was concerned because Stefan Diggs physical didn't come back right. Or maybe he was concerned because his top receiver wasn't there. Well, you can without giving too much away, you can still clarify what you're concerned about or say my wide receiver was here yesterday and this morning. He's dealing with something.

We're working on it. He very clearly just said he is not here. I'm very concerned.

And Sean McDermott isn't dumb. He knows what's going to happen when he says that he knows it's going to set off alarms. So to me, that I tried to say, OK, well, why is he choosing to say it that way as more and more of this news came out? And you have to wonder, perhaps, you know, this wouldn't be the first time that a team and a player kind of used the media to deliver a message to one another.

And, you know, maybe that's a little bit of what's going on here. Yeah, my best guess, and we're all assuming here on this, Bradley Gelber, is that he was just really frustrated with whatever Stefan Diggs said in that meeting. And he's concerned about it moving forward because the guy didn't show up to practice today when it's mandatory. Right, right. And yeah, and like as you said, can they trust him?

I mean, he shows up on Wednesday. You know, I don't think there's any irreparable damage done. I think they're used to, you know, sometimes a wide receiver one, you're going to get a little trauma with them. That's what makes them, you know, maybe a special player.

But I don't think it's irreparable. Now, if we get into training camp and you're talking preseason and all that, then that's a whole different story. But right now, I mean, with what he means to this team, you'd have to hope that they could move forward from that. Have you heard anything about him not having a great relationship with Josh Allen, just wondering? No, you know, obviously everything we've seen, everything we've heard, it's, you know, when he got here, I mean, it was just, it was, they couldn't have been better friends.

I mean, in terms of from the public or what you see behind the scenes with these guys. Now, is there maybe something going on this offseason because of how last season ended? Not from anything I've seen or heard. I know today Josh was asked in his press conference if him and Diggs spoke as much as they have in the past offseason. And he said, yeah, he said maybe a little less. And then he was quick to say, but Stephon Diggs has been traveling all over the world this offseason. So it's not as easy to get a hold of him.

So, you know, that's the sort of thing that maybe you read between the lines a little. But I, you know, from everything I've seen and heard, I wouldn't take the way last season ended as any indication that they're not going to be close anymore or anything like that. And like you said, and I saw the agents say that he's going to show up for the rest of the mandatory minicamp, that's going to be some scene tomorrow. I know you don't know the answer to this, but I can't wait to see if he's going to address reporters and provide any clarity. And if he's even going to show up now, because after you just saw that Instagram post that he put out there, that Instagram story. And I don't want to make too much about an Instagram story, but I don't think it was just him talking about something else. He's clearly talking about this situation today.

Yeah. And, you know, the thing about Stephon Diggs for anyone that follows him on social media is he is the king of inciting riots on social media with the Bills Mafia. Even when he's not unhappy, he posts the most cryptic, vague messages on Twitter, on Instagram, and people run with it all all year.

So I just have I see him sitting at home, just get smiling when he does this stuff sometimes. But yeah, I mean, you know, he's not shy about voicing his opinion. Clearly, you know, the other thing with him, too, is just the fact that, as I said, he's a veteran. And I think he feels perhaps he's earned the right that some of these other guys haven't. I know Von Miller said today he was asked, you know, what what does this say to what would you say to younger players that are watching this? And he said, mind your own business, basically like this is Stephon Diggs.

This isn't a rookie, not a second year player. But, you know, there was times last year even when the Bills would lose and he would not make himself available to the media after games, which did honestly raise some eyebrows as being a leader on this team, why he wouldn't be available to the media after. And he's he's a great interview, obviously. He's a very interesting guy to talk to. He's always and he always has a lot of great stuff to say. But, you know, sometimes I think he does take things personally. He's been the first to say that when they lose. He's not, you know, happy go lucky. He's not going to fake it. But as a leader, I think you kind of owe it to the media, to the fans to talk about what happened. And I think this is no different.

So I'm right there with you. I'm interested to see if he's going to be willing to speak on this or if he's just going to kind of blow it off as you know, it's not anybody's business at this point. I know he's been a captain Bradley Gelber. How do they continue to make him a captain moving forward with all this stuff going on now?

You know, I think honestly, it's because it's what he means to the players on this team. And I think, you know, as I said, this wide receiver group is not the deepest in the league by any stretch. You know, they've brought in some pieces and they have, you know, returning guy and Gabe Davis that they had high expectations for that maybe he hasn't quite lived up to those. They draft Alton Kincaid, who's, you know, a tight end, but really more of a slot receiver there. And so I think they look at him and I think Josh looks at him as, you know, his guy. Like that's the guy you go to when you need a big first down or you need a touchdown late in the game. Like Stephon Diggs is that guy. So from a captain standpoint, if he shows up on Sundays and he's still that guy.

Well, then he's still, you know, means a lot to his teammates and he's still going to be a captain on this team. But, you know, I think that's part of what you start looking at is he's had such a good run in Buffalo. Honestly, when he came here from Minnesota, there was all those questions. I remember it like it was yesterday. Well, how are Josh Allen and Stephon Diggs ever going to coincide together?

How every time Josh overthrows and Stephon's going to have a panic attack off the sideline? Like this was the stuff, the narrative that was going around and it couldn't have gone better to this point. So if this, you know, a few years in, if this is going to be kind of the first real blip on the radar, then that's probably working out better than a lot of people expected. But yeah, I think at this point you just kind of wait and see.

But I don't foresee with how much guys respect him on this team that there would be any change in his captaincy. Bradley Gelber, when you look at the Bills from a hole this year, the AFC East got better, the AFC got better. What do you think this team could end up accomplishing this season? Yeah, you know, that's the question because, as you said, even in their division, right, the AFC East, that's gotten a lot tougher all of a sudden.

And, you know, I still think the Bills are probably the favorite to walk out of that division, but it's not going to be easy to do so. I think they've gotten a lot better in certain positions that they needed to. They've gotten deeper in the offensive line. The defensive line, you hope with Tom Miller coming back and some of those, the secondary, I think it was a nice surprise to be able to get Jordan Poyer back when they probably didn't necessarily expect to do that. They did lose Tremaine Edmonds on that side of the ball, but they have some really nice deep pieces on the defensive side.

Sean McDermott's going back to being more of the active defensive coordinator with Leslie Frazier stepping away. So I think the defensive side of the ball is like pretty set there. And special teams looks good. Offense, I think, you know, the running back room looks a lot better than it's looked in past years. Obviously, you've got Josh Allen. I mentioned the tight end. So, you know, wide receivers probably the biggest question mark at this point. And that's why you've got to hope Stefan Biggs can come in and do what he does. But, you know, I think they expect to be right up there again.

I think they're going to have more competition. But I've heard people ask or they said, has the Bill's window closed? And I don't think the Bill's window has closed because you still have Josh Allen. And that Josh Allen can clean up a little bit of what we saw late in the year last year.

And he's still such a special player. I think that window stays open. But, you know, you've got to have those complementary pieces around him to be able to compete with a team like the Bengals or now compete with a team like the Miami Dolphins in your own division. So, you know, those are going to be the questions. Can they finally put it all together? But, you know, I think people still have pretty high expectations for this team. Maybe not quite as high as the last couple of years.

And maybe that's a good thing at the end of the day. Last thing I'll ask you, Bradley Gelber, does a great job USA Today covering the Buffalo Bills for the Bills wire. I was on the air the night where we had the DeMar Hamlin situation unfold and everyone thought the worst.

I don't think you're human. If your mind didn't wonder what actually happened on that field. To now see DeMar Hamlin be cleared and be back on a practice field and have a helmet on and participating in drills, it's just so surreal for me. And it is crazy that we're at this point that this story has, you know, a good turn and a great turn to it. Just how do you kind of react now when you see DeMar Hamlin on a field knowing what we just saw a few months ago?

Yeah, it's unreal. I mean, you know, I've had the chance to talk to him a little bit and just kind of, you know, talk to him off the football field and just a really inspirational guy. I think the thing that surprised me about DeMar maybe with all the attention from all over the world was he's a bit of a soft-spoken guy. Like, he's not the most boisterous, you know, big personality that you would maybe expect when you see him plastered all over everything because of how, you know, unbelievable his story was.

But I think, like you said, as a human being, you just couldn't be happier for him. You know, if it was me, I don't know if I could ever step back out on a football field. I don't know how many people could do that again and be able to go out there now to what degree he's going to see live action or not.

I mean, that's the sort of thing I think he had an interception recently in practice. They were talking about that and just being able to get back to not only just living, obviously, because that was the concern for a while, but carrying on everyday life. But to be back out on a football field, you just, you know, that's one of those inspirational stories I think that's, you know, made from a movie one day at some point where just to tell his story. I mean, to overcome what he overcame and, as you said, watching him kind of be on the field and not knowing if he was going to survive. I just think that at this point, it's so surreal to actually see him back out there.

And I think for fans, for media, for coaches, for, you know, anyone that cares about football, cares about him as a human being, his family, I mean, it's just got to be unbelievable. Bradley Gelber, appreciate the time. Thanks so much for doing this. Of course. Thank you for having me.