Vikings, Stefon Diggs parted because of irreconcilable differences
Once Vikings went run-heavy, Diggs wanted out.
Whenever the NFL permits teams to return from the coronavirus scare and the Vikings begin their offseason program in Eagan, they might come back to a building that bears fewer artifacts from Diggs’ five seasons in Minnesota. The 26-year-old receiver himself will not be there after a Monday trade that shipped him to Buffalo along with a seventh-round pick in exchange for four Bills draft choices.
The deal seized headlines Monday, but not because of its suddenness. It came with an air of inevitability, after a year’s worth of events that had frayed the relationship between the receiver and the Vikings. On Tuesday, a day after the trade was done and a day before it could become official, the end of the ordeal allowed some in the organization a moment to breathe.
The 21-month journey from that July day to Monday’s trade can perhaps be charted alongside the shifts in offensive identity that took the Vikings from shotgun sets and spread formations to heavy personnel groups and a dogged commitment to the run.
At the time the Vikings paid Diggs, they were set to turn him and Thielen loose in an offense that would throw to set up the ground game. It started well enough, with Thielen tying an NFL record for eight consecutive 100-yard receiving games to start a season and Diggs catching 58 passes in the first half of 2018 as the Vikings began the year in playoff position.
Change in philosophy
But coach Mike Zimmer’s distaste for offensive coordinator John DeFilippo’s approach went from private to public in the second half of the year, and after Zimmer fired DeFilippo in Dec. 2018, the Vikings reorganized their offense around Kevin Stefanski’s collaboration with Gary Kubiak. Cousins went under center most of the time; the Vikings used multiple tight ends more and featured Dalvin Cook in the running game. The approach rankled Diggs early in 2019, and after Thielen again became the team’s highest-paid receiver in April 2019, Diggs skipped portions of the Vikings’ offseason program. During that time, sources told the Star Tribune, the receiver was angling for a trade out of Minnesota.
The contract Diggs signed gave the Vikings plenty of leverage, and the team held firm even as Diggs brooded. But after a second NFC North road loss dropped the Vikings to 2-2 in September, Diggs’ frustrations boiled over in the form of an absence the Vikings couldn’t whitewash.
After he skipped two days of meetings and practice following a loss to the Bears, sources said he was texting teammates he was done with the Vikings, fed up with a role that afforded him only 19 targets in the team’s first four games. Cousins publicly apologized to Thielen that week for not finding him downfield in Chicago; despite a few spats that both have chalked up to their competitive nature, the two always had seemed closer than Cousins and Diggs.
Zimmer closed practice Wednesday that week with an expletive-laden speech about Diggs’ absence (as team play-by-play announcer Paul Allen recounted on his radio show Tuesday) and the Vikings used their considerable leverage to get Diggs back in the building the following day. He surprised the team with an enigmatic news conference, during which he said “there’s truth to all rumors” about whether he was unhappy in Minnesota
http://www.startribune.com/vikings-stefon-diggs-parted-because-of-irreconcilable-differences/568885742/
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
@"Vikergirl" said: https://www.instagram.com/p/B99iL0gJa3y/?igshid=1wpow3bafdps9Breaks my heart...Dayum
I think the unspoken part of him leaving is the head coach and him in conflict. People think it's him and Cousins but I think that's way overblown. I used to watch every Zimmer presser up until about a year ago and I remember how he would never go out of his way to praise Diggs, questions about Diggs didn't elicit some of the positive responses that other guys would recieve. I just felt that there was something going on there, possibly just that he didn't like Digg's having a bit of the diva in him. Old iron Mike didn't dig it.
Anyhow, after this trade went down the tidbit comes out from P.A. about when Diggs took his little 2 day vacation and Zimmer supposedly got up in the locker room and said eff that guy blah blah blah. Would Zimmer talk that way about one of his defensive pet pupils? I don't think so. Yeah it hurt the team but should a coach really act so divisively in that or any situation? I could be wrong but not in my opinion.
Now you've got a bunch of guys cut or walking away. Mac Alexander took peanuts to play on one of the lousiest teams in football instead of to stay here. You watch the coach talk that way about a guy whose contribution on the field is big, maybe you don't feel so great about playing for him any more.
The more information I learn about what was going on behind the scenes the last two years with Diggs the happier I am about moving on without him. I think we did well in the trade for a player who did not want to be here. Reminds me of the Percy Harvin ordeal and we were able to get a really good return by trading him to Seattle. I think Percy was more of a head case then Diggs and Diggs is more of a prima donna.
Up until learning about his two day absence and then cryptic comments after and then Redskins uni picture I was just looking at them in isolation. I did not know the behind the scenes so I always just chalked it up to him being immature and ultra-competitive. Now I know that he was divisive, disgruntled, and unhappy about his place in a run focused offense....so goodbye! Thanks for your production and miracle.
Buffalo is a run focused team as well and not in a major market that I am sure Diggs would have wanted. With Allen being a very inaccurate long range thrower I don't see a happy time for Diggs in Buffalo at all. I think he will be this contract and then gone from there. He is very talented and in the right situation (with his own happiness) he can flourish but Buffalo????
As for Mac:
"During a meaningless Week 17 loss to Chicago in which many of the Vikings' starters did not play, Alexander sustained an injury to his knee that required offseason surgery, forcing him to miss Minnesota's postseason run."
I think he sees himself as a starter on the outside and this week 17 injury just solidified him moving on. Plus he and Waynes are buds. I thought Mac was playing well and better as the season went on so I did not want to lose him but that injury meant that he was moving on somewhere, anywhere - IMO
The only issue for me is the Vikings struck gold on a 5th round pick that they developed and now he's gone at 26 years old. A shame, really, but it is what it is. I don't dwell on players leaving, especially ones that want out so badly. The Vikings need this Draft to be fruitful.
New report today saying that Diggs tweets on Monday "time for a new beginning" are what prompted the Bills to call about a trade. Not the other way around. Meaning, Diggs did not know that we were working on a deal and tweeted that but rather he prompted the trade talk. The trade was not that difficult to work out becuase we had already talked with the Bills last year and we knew each others demands. Diggs, really did not want to be here and his behavior was bound to become even more distracting. Another vey good trade for the Vikings. Similar to the Harvin trade years ago. Get rid of headcase/prima and get very good return. The team will be better off without a very unhappy and immature Diggs.
@"minny65" said: New report today saying that Diggs tweets on Monday "time for a new beginning" are what prompted the Bills to call about a trade. Not the other way around. Meaning, Diggs did not know that we were working on a deal and tweeted that but rather he prompted the trade talk. The trade was not that difficult to work out becuase we had already talked with the Bills last year and we knew each others demands. Diggs, really did not want to be here and his behavior was bound to become even more distracting. Another vey good trade for the Vikings. Similar to the Harvin trade years ago. Get rid of headcase/prima and get very good return. The team will be better off without a very unhappy and immature Diggs.
Read the same report, SI, correct. Buffalo had already been in talks, stopped, and Diggs tweet promoted a midpoint offer.
https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/03/23/tampa-bay-buccaneers-scout-tom-brady-diggs-hopkins-trades
@"BigAl99" said:@"minny65" said: New report today saying that Diggs tweets on Monday "time for a new beginning" are what prompted the Bills to call about a trade. Not the other way around. Meaning, Diggs did not know that we were working on a deal and tweeted that but rather he prompted the trade talk. The trade was not that difficult to work out becuase we had already talked with the Bills last year and we knew each others demands. Diggs, really did not want to be here and his behavior was bound to become even more distracting. Another vey good trade for the Vikings. Similar to the Harvin trade years ago. Get rid of headcase/prima and get very good return. The team will be better off without a very unhappy and immature Diggs.Read the same report, SI, correct. Buffalo had already been in talks, stopped, and Diggs tweet promoted a midpoint offer.
https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/03/23/tampa-bay-buccaneers-scout-tom-brady-diggs-hopkins-trades
Yes, looks like I was wrong about that. Let that sink in...the Vikings traded its best player because of a..um...tweet. Unreal.
@"MaroonBells" said:@"BigAl99" said:@"minny65" said: New report today saying that Diggs tweets on Monday "time for a new beginning" are what prompted the Bills to call about a trade. Not the other way around. Meaning, Diggs did not know that we were working on a deal and tweeted that but rather he prompted the trade talk. The trade was not that difficult to work out becuase we had already talked with the Bills last year and we knew each others demands. Diggs, really did not want to be here and his behavior was bound to become even more distracting. Another vey good trade for the Vikings. Similar to the Harvin trade years ago. Get rid of headcase/prima and get very good return. The team will be better off without a very unhappy and immature Diggs.Read the same report, SI, correct. Buffalo had already been in talks, stopped, and Diggs tweet promoted a midpoint offer.
https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/03/23/tampa-bay-buccaneers-scout-tom-brady-diggs-hopkins-trades
Yes, looks like I was wrong about that. Let that sink in...the Vikings traded its best player because of a..um...tweet. Unreal.
you really still think it was just the tweets?
diggs is going to rue the day he was traded to buffalo and one of the most inaccurate passers in the league. the sidelines will be on fire about week three.
@"PSBLAKE" said: diggs is going to rue the day he was traded to buffalo and one of the most inaccurate passers in the league. the sidelines will be on fire about week three.Agree. Buffalo is one of the worst spots for him. For us, I think we got very good value for a player that was going to keep having tantrums until dealt.
@"JimmyinSD" said:@"MaroonBells" said:@"BigAl99" said:@"minny65" said: New report today saying that Diggs tweets on Monday "time for a new beginning" are what prompted the Bills to call about a trade. Not the other way around. Meaning, Diggs did not know that we were working on a deal and tweeted that but rather he prompted the trade talk. The trade was not that difficult to work out becuase we had already talked with the Bills last year and we knew each others demands. Diggs, really did not want to be here and his behavior was bound to become even more distracting. Another vey good trade for the Vikings. Similar to the Harvin trade years ago. Get rid of headcase/prima and get very good return. The team will be better off without a very unhappy and immature Diggs.Read the same report, SI, correct. Buffalo had already been in talks, stopped, and Diggs tweet promoted a midpoint offer.
https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/03/23/tampa-bay-buccaneers-scout-tom-brady-diggs-hopkins-trades
Yes, looks like I was wrong about that. Let that sink in...the Vikings traded its best player because of a..um...tweet. Unreal.
you really still think it was just the tweets?
What?? No, remember, I'm the one who thought that was crazy.
I think he wanted out because he didn't have a QB that could read single coverage and throw the ball quick off the snap and give the WR a chance to beat the DB. He was tired of the same thing some fans are, which is having a QB that, 9 times out of 10, needs a receiver to be 4 -5 yards open before he throws the ball.
@"PSBLAKE" said: diggs is going to rue the day he was traded to buffalo and one of the most inaccurate passers in the league. the sidelines will be on fire about week three.
In 2018 the Bills almost shut us out at home with a rookie qb. Now their 3rd year qb, which made the playoffs last year, have a great weapon in Diggs. If we make it as far as the Bill next season, most here would be ecstatic.
@"JimmyinSD" said:@"MaroonBells" said:@"BigAl99" said:@"minny65" said: New report today saying that Diggs tweets on Monday "time for a new beginning" are what prompted the Bills to call about a trade. Not the other way around. Meaning, Diggs did not know that we were working on a deal and tweeted that but rather he prompted the trade talk. The trade was not that difficult to work out becuase we had already talked with the Bills last year and we knew each others demands. Diggs, really did not want to be here and his behavior was bound to become even more distracting. Another vey good trade for the Vikings. Similar to the Harvin trade years ago. Get rid of headcase/prima and get very good return. The team will be better off without a very unhappy and immature Diggs.Read the same report, SI, correct. Buffalo had already been in talks, stopped, and Diggs tweet promoted a midpoint offer.
https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/03/23/tampa-bay-buccaneers-scout-tom-brady-diggs-hopkins-trades
Yes, looks like I was wrong about that. Let that sink in...the Vikings traded its best player because of a..um...tweet. Unreal.
you really still think it was just the tweets?
Yeah, its not about the tweets, lol. Much more going on behind the scenes.
@"FLVike" said:@"PSBLAKE" said: diggs is going to rue the day he was traded to buffalo and one of the most inaccurate passers in the league. the sidelines will be on fire about week three.In 2018 the Bills almost shut us out at home with a rookie qb. Now their 3rd year qb, which made the playoffs last year, have a great weapon in Diggs. If we make it as far as the Bill next season, most here would be ecstatic.
Allen is a 56% career passer, college and pros.Allen has completed 6 of 50 on passes of 30+ yards.
Allen has completed 21 of 71 on passes of 20-29 yards.
Stevie Wonder could do about as well.
@"BarrNone55" said:@"FLVike" said:@"PSBLAKE" said: diggs is going to rue the day he was traded to buffalo and one of the most inaccurate passers in the league. the sidelines will be on fire about week three.In 2018 the Bills almost shut us out at home with a rookie qb. Now their 3rd year qb, which made the playoffs last year, have a great weapon in Diggs. If we make it as far as the Bill next season, most here would be ecstatic.
Allen is a 56% career passer, college and pros.Allen has completed 6 of 50 on passes of 30+ yards.
Allen has completed 21 of 71 on passes of 20-29 yards.
Stevie Wonder could do about as well.
Wonder's deep ball does seem to be Blowin' In The Wind.
@"BarrNone55" said:@"FLVike" said:@"PSBLAKE" said: diggs is going to rue the day he was traded to buffalo and one of the most inaccurate passers in the league. the sidelines will be on fire about week three.In 2018 the Bills almost shut us out at home with a rookie qb. Now their 3rd year qb, which made the playoffs last year, have a great weapon in Diggs. If we make it as far as the Bill next season, most here would be ecstatic.
Allen is a 56% career passer, college and pros.Allen has completed 6 of 50 on passes of 30+ yards.
Allen has completed 21 of 71 on passes of 20-29 yards.
Stevie Wonder could do about as well.
Well, if he played us 5 times a year he would be the top rated passer
@"FLVike" said:@"PSBLAKE" said: diggs is going to rue the day he was traded to buffalo and one of the most inaccurate passers in the league. the sidelines will be on fire about week three.In 2018 the Bills almost shut us out at home with a rookie qb. Now their 3rd year qb, which made the playoffs last year, have a great weapon in Diggs. If we make it as far as the Bill next season, most here would be ecstatic.
umm the Vikings had a great year made the playoffs beat New Orleans at home and Diggs had a career year. And it wasnt good enough for him. Josh Allen is going to make it better?
So I guess you guys think it was a fluke when rookie qb Josh Allen and the Bills came into our house the year after we played in the NFCC game and took us to the woodshed. I really thought Zimmer would have the team ready for the Bills because 4 years earlier the Bills had a miracle finish to beat us at their house. And don't forget about last season's playoffs; the Bills had the Texans on the rope and Watson had to play an unbelievable 4th qtr to pull that game out.
Mark my words; If there is a season the Bills will win their division and will be a very tough out in the playoffs.
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