Bills’ Josh Allen Clarifies Comments, Says ‘Stats’ Remark Wasn’t Stefon Diggs Shade

Joseph Zucker@@JosephZuckerFeatured Columnist IVSeptember 25, 2024

Perry Knotts/Getty Images

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen made it clear there’s no ill will toward wide receiver Stefon Diggs after his trade to the Houston Texans.

Allen told reporters that “I love 14” and said others are trying to manufacture a level of tension between he and Diggs.

Matt Parrino @MattParrinoJosh Allen took exception with how people tried twisting his compliments about current WRs as a dig at his former no. 1.

“I love 14. I still do. But everyone wants to keep making this thing a thing. We’re so focused on what’s going on inside our building.” pic.twitter.com/Qqjc4SdOf2

The remarks come after the veteran signal-caller spoke positively about what has been a balanced passing attack in Buffalo and that “it’s a fun and wonderful thing when you got a bunch of guys that don’t care about the stats.” Some read that as a veiled shot at Diggs.

It’s not hard to see, how absent further clarification, some would have thought Allen was alluding to the four-time Pro Bowler.

In June 2023, the Boston Globe’s Ben Volin reported Diggs was frustrated “with his role in the offense and his voice in play-calling.” The decorated pass-catcher emphasized a month later that his focus was purely on team success.

By December, however, he acknowledged he was discouraged with his production, citing how much attention he was regularly getting from opposing defenses.

“I’m going to be honest, it’s frustrating,” Diggs told reporters. “A lot of things have to go right for me to get the ball.”

Allen came to his defense at multiple points last year to tamp down any criticism directed at his No. 1 target. Both players said positive things about each other after Buffalo shipped Diggs to Houston too.

Allen said he’ll “always love that guy like a brother,” while Diggs said his former QB “was and still is my guy” and “really embraced me.”

There’s no question the Bills have a more egalitarian aerial approach so far. Through three games, 10 players have caught at least two passes, only two fewer than across the entirety of 2023. The gap between leading receiver Khalil Shakir (14 receptions) and the next closest players (James Cook and Dalton Kincaid, eight receptions) is also on pace to be much lower than last year as well.

But any success Allen has in 2024 doesn’t have to automatically be a reflection of how his run with Diggs ended.