When the Lions traded starting safety Quandre Diggs, it created some dismay and anger in the locker room there.
For his part, Diggs believes that internal dynamics led directly to his being shipped to the Seahawks.
Diggs told Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press he thought his personality was the reason the Lions got rid of him.
“I think it was more of just a control thing,” Diggs said. “Them wanting to control the locker room. Control the locker room, control voices in the locker room.”
The Lions got a 2020 fifth-rounder for Diggs and a 2021 seventh, so it’s not as if moving him yielded a bounty they couldn’t turn down. And the team has said it was about creating opportunities for younger players, but the 26-year-old team captain had just signed an extension the year before, so he suspected it wasn’t about his play.
Asked about his relationship with coach Matt Patricia and General Manager Bob Quinn, Diggs replied: “It is what it is.”
“Like I say, I don’t have no ill will towards anybody, but at the end of the day, I’m at a new organization that respects the players, they respect your personality and the people that you are,” Diggs said. “I’m just happy about my situation. Those guys, they do what they do, (what) they feel like what’s best for the organization. I don’t fault them, but at the end of the day, I’m good where I’m at.”
Diggs referred to the deal as a “head-scratcher,” and he’s far from alone in that sentiment. Without getting into the specifics, he made it clear there were some differences of opinion regarding leadership, and as a result he found a new address in midseason.