Josh Allen sounds like he couldn’t wait to get Stefon Diggs out of Bills locker room

The Buffalo Bills had to make roster cuts to comply with the salary cap before the start of the new league year in March. This marked the most significant churning of Buffalo’s roster since the 2000 offseason, when the Bills released Pro Football Hall of Famers Bruce Smith, Thurman Thomas, and Andre Reed, the last remaining players from their Super Bowl teams. The Bills appeared to be finished stripping their roster down by the end of March, but their most drastic move was yet to come.

The Bills traded wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans on Apr. 3, effectively marking the end of an era in Buffalo.

When Diggs first arrived to Buffalo, he connected almost instantly with Bills quarterback Josh Allen. The Bills acquired Diggs in a trade with the Vikings before the 2020 season, and Allen set career highs in passing yards (4,544) and passing touchdowns (37) in his first year with the star wideout. The duo thrived together during Diggs' four-year stint with the team, and their friendship was highlighted as one of the strongest quarterback-wide receiver bonds in the league. 

Josh Allen apparently doesn't miss having Stefon Diggs around

Until this point, Bills quarterback Josh Allen had said all of the right things about his former teammate. That changed during his media availability following training camp practice on Wednesday. 

Allen was asked if he missed Diggs, according to Alex Brasky of Batavia Daily News, and his response raised some eyebrows.

“I mean, I think [Diggs] is a great player and what he brought to this team was special,” Allen said. “So, ‘miss’ is — I don't know if l'd say ‘miss.’”

Diggs played a pivotal role in Allen's development, and Allen returned the favor by helping Diggs string together four consecutive Pro Bowl seasons to go along with a first-team All-Pro in 2020 and second-team All-Pro in 2022.

“He was a guy that was reliable you can look to,” Allen said. “He's gonna have the juice each and every day. I'm sure he's bringing it over there in Houston. So definitely — you can't say that you don't miss that. But I am very happy with what we got going on here and how hard the guys have been working.”

Diggs' relationship with Allen seemed to sour in recent years, however. Diggs was seen shouting at Allen on the sideline during the team's 27-10 playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals after the 2022 season. In 2023, the tension seemed to linger — Diggs inexplicably missed minicamp the following offseason, and head coach Sean McDermott gave mixed reports about the absence. After the team's postseason run in 2023 came to an abrupt end, the disgruntled wideout began sending cryptic tweets about his future in Buffalo.

Allen downplayed the issues in the past, and has now moved on from Diggs and focused on the receivers the Bills have in Buffalo now.