Bedard: Stefon Diggs takes issue with being portrayed as a 'pain in the ass'

FOXBOROUGH — Well, it's not just cornerbacks that Stefon Diggs keeps on his toes.

Diggs, talking to the media for the first time in a while, started off his press conference on Wednesday with a preamble that saw him call out some of the New England media for portraying him as a "pain in the ass."

Those comments:

"Before we start, do you mind if we have a little conversation? Obviously I haven't talked much in camp. It's nice to see everybody here. I appreciate y'all. Appreciate your patience. I just try to take this time to be focused, get my mind right, get my body right, come into camp with the right mindset, physically and mentally. It's always a thing in camp, so I just needed that time. So I appreciate y'all having patience with me, but I do kind of want to address some things far like that happened throughout camp.

Obviously, I look at the media as a whole, and I kind of want to approach this thing as professional as possible. So Phil and Tom, I don't want to mistakenly say the wrong names, but my words ... I had some some conversations, and I had some interviews throughout camp, and some of my words were misconstrued and, you know, kind of, I don't know if me talking to another individual, I don't know it was kind of regurgitated in another way, so, or taken out of context. And I think I was referred to as a pain in the ass. I hate pain in the posterior. But I'm gonna say exactly what it really was. Obviously, I don't want to come across as that. 

"And I'm gonna say this, I want to be very clear. I'm an adult. I apologize. I'm not up here to ego trip. I'm not up here to, you know, rub anybody the wrong way or say anything for clickbait. If I rub anybody the wrong way, I really want to apologize moving forward, obviously, we have a media-to-player relationship as professional as I can be, I want to make myself available each and every week. Obviously, don't want to make this thing abrasive, you know, it can be as seamless as possible, and it also can be abrasive, and I don't want to get up here and not answer questions or make anybody feel uncomfortable, you know.

"I mean, obviously it's a world we live in, like, if somebody calls you an asshole, you start acting like one? No, you don't. I won't. That's not me. So I want to apologize if I ever came across as asshole to anybody. But moving forward, I kind of want to get things off on the right foot. We're going to spend a lot of time together, and I kind of want to give, obviously, a good interview if I'm asked questions, you know, I don't want to get up here giving you the vanilla answers or no answer at all. So moving forward, hopefully this relationship can grow and we build on something special. Obviously it's gonna be a long season, so we're gonna spend a lot of time together."

And that, we were off. Certainly one of the strangest press conference moments I've been a part of. Usually those types of conversations are held one-on-one, but Diggs decided to handle it this way. Certainly his prerogative.

Some of his other comments:

• On telling Dianna Russini that he might be ready for Week 1: "If it was hazy, it was for good reason. It was just more so, like you don't want the opposition to see you coming to you, obviously. ... It was more sarcastic."

• He said his limited practice participation was part of the team's plans: "(Mike Vrabel) didn't want to put too much of a workload on me. Obviously, I wanted it. But they were just like, you know, obviously, being smart. I've been around for a long time. I didn't forget how to play football, but taking those mental reps was super important for me."

• On Drake Maye: "He has a lot of confidence. He has a strong arm. He's playing with that confidence, we're at that time in camp, where everybody's trying to peak at the right time, seeing a lot of good things, you know, trying to get open. So for me, just trying to build that, continue to do my job."

• On if he needs X targets or has certain goals he wants to reach: "I got asked that question, I think a close friend of mine and I was kind of expressing to him, it's a different offense. We got a lot of weapons.For me, like I'm not going in there, like, 'I need to (do X) ... Nah, it's not that kind of party. We got a lot of guys that make plays at a high level. And what I'm accustomed to doesn't mean it's right or wrong. It's just, you know, it is what is? At this point in my career, obviously, I'm excited just to get out there and just put more pressure on them, make the most of your opportunities."

• Is he expecting to be on a play count? "Hell no! (laughing) I don't know, I don't make the rules but we'll see how it goes. I really hope not (laughing)."

• On his mindset after what he went through the past year. "I'm just really thankful. ... My day job is my love, my passion. So I went without it for a very long time. So at this point, just being in front of you guys is like, I'm appreciative around that. ... It's obviously gonna be an adjustment, but we're trying to get this show on the road. ... So for me, I'm just thankful to be where I'm at right now, back running into people, catching passes. That's been an exciting one for me. I didn't get caught up in not wanting to practice. Of course, I had those moments, and I missed the games, but I knew it would come eventually."

ANOTHER DAY WITHOUT GONZALEZ

Christian Gonzalez missed Wednesday's practice as he continues to deal with a hamstring injury that has kept him sidelined since July 28. After multiple questions about the cornerback's status and rehab, Vrabel stopped a reporter mid-query.

"Yeah, I mean, please, guys, I mean, this is the first Wednesday of the season and he's not going to be at practice," he said. "Just please use your time as efficiently as we can about our team, about the Raiders. And I know Christian is a large part of our team, but he's not going to be out there today. So, that's all I can update you with." - Mike Giardi