ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- When Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs was first named a team captain in 2021, he said that he was taken aback a little bit because it was his first time in the role.
"The guys that you ride for every game, in practice and the fact that they trust you. They trust you in the biggest moments, and they trust you on a daily basis that you're gonna do the right thing on and off the field. So, yeah, I was happy," Diggs said in 2021.
On Wednesday, Diggs was named a team captain for his third of four seasons with Buffalo and third straight year. While it was meaningful to the wide receiver when his teammates voted him a captain for the first time in his career in just his second season with the Bills, he said this time around means even more.
"For me, it means more now than it did when I was, my first time ever being named a captain," Diggs said Thursday. "Just the consistency of it, the respect from your peers. I know the biggest thing for me is always earning the respect from my teammates, earning the respect from my coaches, and when you get named a captain, that's like reassurance, like, you might be halfway decent at what you do, you know what I'm saying? Not just professionally, but as far as like how you represent yourself and who you are as a man."
Diggs, 29, is one of eight Bills captains alongside quarterback Josh Allen, center Mitch Morse, first-time captain wide receiver Gabe Davis, safeties Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer, pass-rusher Von Miller and linebacker and special teams player Tyler Matakevich.
In each season with the Bills, Diggs has totaled 1,200-plus receiving yards, at least eight touchdowns and 100-plus receptions.
This offseason was one of significant and oftentimes unfounded outside speculation surrounding Diggs, especially after he was not present for one mandatory minicamp practice after being in the building earlier in the day, but coach Sean McDermott clarified the following day that Diggs was excused from that practice.
Since minicamp, Diggs has been present and fully participated in every Bills practice and has continued to look in sync with Allen. He reiterated at the start of training camp, when asked, that he "100%" still wants to retire as a Bill after signing a four-year, $104 million extension in April 2022 with his contract going through 2027 and that his focus is on winning and winning Super Bowls.
Diggs said that blocking out the noise was an important part of this offseason.
"I mean, you know, with everything that went on as far as like with the offseason and everything going into this season, it's just like ... blocking out the noise," Diggs said. "It's been one of those, it's been one of those offseasons, like, it's been a lot of chatter. It kind of was an ongoing thing, but you block out the noise, you focus on football, you focus on your team, and you focus on the guys around you. So, for me, it meant a lot. And so, I just keep working hard, keep putting my head down and bring my lunch pail to work each and every day, and I'm giving everything I got."
Part of what makes Diggs appreciative is that the opinion of his teammates in the locker room is meaningful to him.
"I don't take things personally from people I don't know personally, and I know those guys in there personally," Diggs said. "You know their family, you know their kids, and you spend so much time with them, blood, sweat and tears ... so my appreciation really goes for those. They're damn near like your loved ones, and how they look at you and how they respect you, how they appreciate you, goes a long way."