HappyDays

My source tells me Diggs will be at minicamp and practicing tomorrow.

I generally agree with your point but I don't necessarily agree that reps are near meaningless right now. Every rep matters. Mahomes is at camp throwing the ball to Kelce right now so that by the time they get to training camp all the rust will already be shaken off. As far as I can tell Allen hasn't thrown a single ball to Diggs since the division loss. Our rivals are getting a head start. The preparation never really stops.

I think his answer was an intentional choice. Why did he handle it badly? A reporter asked him how concerning it was that Diggs wasn't there and he answered truthfully. Of course it is a big concern. If McDermott hadn't said anything it would still be a big story. The bigger issue is that this represents a trend. It isn't like Milano not showing up out of the blue. The last time we saw Diggs he made a spectacle on the sideline of a game, he left the facility without even saying goodbye to teammates, and then he did a whole media circuit where he made not so subtle jabs at the direction of the team. Then he skipped OTAs, and yes he was well within his rights to do so, but he has made no attempt to calm some of the unease around his recent actions at any point this offseason. On the contrary, he has inflamed the unease. We've crossed a line here. I thought everyone would agree that mandatory minicamp was the final straw in this whole saga. I'm surprised some fans are still trying to pretend it isn't a concern. "I don't care until September" I mean come on. The offseason is still part of the journey. What happens now matters.

It isn't Von's job to tell the truth. Every player should give that same answer in public. But the reality is the head coach publicly called out Diggs for missing mandatory minicamp today. It can't be hand waved away.

Probably wouldn't be great if all 53 players were pointing fingers on the sidelines in a playoff game and skipping out on day one of mandatory minicamp. There's a fine line between being an intense competitor and being a distraction. Diggs clearly is being a distraction right now. There's no way to minimize him missing practice today, certainly not after the messaging we saw from him the last time he was in the spotlight. Anyone pretending this isn't a big deal is lying to themselves. It's not the end of the world but it is a thing and nobody knows where it's headed.

I too heard something recently that Allen was not himself during that Bengals game because he went through a bad break up the night before. I didn't give much credence to the theory before but I've heard enough recently that makes me believe it is true.

Yes, I heard the audio and my source who told me what it meant has been 100% accurate with everything they've told me so far.

This is correct. More specifically, the blow up was Diggs saying to Josh "what's your excuse now?" (I have actually heard the audio, it was picked up by whoever was wearing the mic'd up microphone for that game) because Josh missed a throw in the game that he had also missed in practice. Their relationship has frayed.

Yes that is what I was told.

My source tells me Diggs is in Buffalo, just not at camp. My source assumes Diggs is trying to send some kind of message but he isn't sure what message or why.

Bills have been regular season kings for years now. They've been under .560 win percentage just once since 2017. Why would anybody try to rationalize an opinion that says we will suddenly break that trend? I'm not worried about us making hay from September to New Years. It's what happens after that I have questions about.

Yeah you knew where I was going with that question, so I'll accept you understand that a pass-catching TE is an extremely valuable position in the modern NFL.

He isn't small or slow. Pop quiz - which non-QB has given the Bills the most trouble over the past three seasons?

Well first of all, Kincaid isn't ever going to be "starting over Knox." They will have different roles in the offense. Kincaid is going to be the starting big slot from day one. As for earning his playing time, he is reportedly already earning 1st team reps and a decent target share from Allen in OTAs. He isn't going to platoon as a rookie, he is going to have a substantial role in the offense from day one.

53 catches 573 yards 5 TDs

So what are we talking about here? The original point I made is that Davis is highly likely to be the #2 target in our passing offense which is a scenario that I am not comfortable with. YOU'RE the one that then tried to bring in names like Harty, Shakir, and Sherfield, as if any of them represent legitimate competition for Davis' heavy target share. Davis wasn't the #2 target share in 2020 and 2021 when he had established veterans with proven production like Beasley and Sanders in front of him. This year, like last year, we don't have anybody like that. Harty is likely an improvement on McKenzie, Sherfield is likely an improvement on Kumerow, Shakir is likely an improvement on his rookie year self... That's all good but it's just improving the depth pieces on offense last year. The top end potential is still exactly where it was. So it seems you agree that the only thing stopping Davis once again being the #2 target is Kincaid immediately hitting close to his ceiling as a rookie. It's a lot to ask. As confident as I am in his abilities, he still has to acclimate to the brutal NFL schedule and NFL physicality. No other Super Bowl contender is relying on a rookie to have that kind of impact on their offense. You're trying to downplay the impact of the #2 outside WR in an offense that likes to throw the ball downfield and has a QB that specializes in tight window throws outside the numbers. Davis as the WR2 represents a major defect in the passing offense, just like it did last year. Maybe we'll overcome it if Kincaid hits his stride early and some of the role players rise above their expectations and the OL suddenly jumps to a top 10 level. As of right now though it is a huge question mark.

Not sure how much I believe him but it at least sounds like good news.

Harty is not going to get the 2nd most passing targets. Come on now. If he makes it through the whole year healthy that would be a great outcome.

Kincaid is the only one of these that has a realistic chance of being the #2 target. I think you know this.