Cowboys star blames Sean McDermott for Stefon Diggs’ mystery absence from mandatory minicamp - "Not about the money"

Stefon Diggs' absence from mandatory minincamp had the entire NFL at DEFCON 4 for a moment. The wide receiver has since joined the Buffalo Bills, but the absence left analysts and fans scratching their heads.

With the reasons behind the absence unexplained, former New York Jets star Keyshawn Johnson wrote off the most common reason for skipping practice: money.

"It's not about the money, because clearly he's one of the top two or three paid receivers in the game," Johnson said. "It's more about how he's being used. It's not that he's not getting his touches. He had 100 plus catches last year. ... It's how he's being used when he's being used."

Johnson talked about how the Cincinnati Bengals were happy to win or lose by the hands of their receivers and how that mentaility doesn't exist in Buffalo:

"You go back to last year's playoff game against Cincinnati and he's looking at Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and (Tyler) Boyd and how they utilize them in certain situations to close out games and putting the football in their hands... When you are feeling like the coaches aren't understanding what you want, it can be very, very frustrating."

Johnson blamed Diggs' absence on a lack of communication between McDermott and his offensive coordinator:

"Based on reports, he went to sit down with Brandon Beane, along with the head coach, Sean McDermott, and had a conversation with them. The individual that was absent was the offensive coordinator. OK? So, when you look at that (and) Josh Allen (then) ... doesn't get him the football late in games in situations. That's that lack of communication that we're seeing right now coming out of Buffalo."

Stefon Diggs' front-loaded production leaves room for improvement in 2023

Stefon Diggs at AFC wild-card playoffs

The leading wide receiver of the Buffalo Bills started the 2022 season as hot as anyone, but while the total yardage was bombastic at the end of the year, it is clear where most of those numbers came from.

By the end of Week 9, Diggs had earned at least 100 yards in six games. But from the start of Week 10 until the end of the season, the wide receiver had one such game, which came in Week 16.

Many believe that around Week 10, teams began to choose Diggs as the focus of the defense. If they could slow him down, they could slow down the entire offense. Allen saw this and decided to look elsewhere, rarely using Diggs.

However, in terms of wins and losses, it worked. Between Week 10 and Week 16, the team won every single game.

Will the Bills look back at their number one wide receiver or could this absence lead into a bad blood-stuffed 2023 season?

If any of the above quotes are used, please credit "First Take" and H/T Sportskeeda.