Diggs absent from Bills’ practice

Without going into full detail into what exactly is eating at Diggs, Allen listed getting the team’s top receiving threat more involved in the offense and having more game-planning input as among the player’s concerns.

The quarterback then placed the onus on himself to do better in what will be an ongoing attempt to get Diggs back in the fold — and the sooner the better for the Bills.

“This does not work what we’re doing here without him,” Allen said following practice.

“I’ve got his back no matter what and I’ve got no doubt that we will figure out what’s going on. I love him. I can’t stress that enough,” he added, emphasizing his love for Diggs by using a profanity. “I think that there are some things that could have gone better last year and didn’t. I think as an organization, maybe not communicating the right way with everything.”

Allen said Diggs wants to remain in Buffalo, and was confident the dispute will be resolved.

“He’s a fiery competitor. At the end of the day, he wants to win, this team wants to win, and make no mistake, he’s a Buffalo Bill. We’re going to work this out,” Allen said. “He doesn’t want this to be a distraction.”

Distraction or not, Diggs’ offseason long absence — he also skipped the team’s voluntary spring workouts and practices — raises more questions than answers. The dispute also exposing a break in what had previously been the Bills tightly knit culture and the close friendship the receiver had built with Allen over their previous three seasons.

CINCINNATI — The question isn’t if Joe Burrow will be among the NFL’s highest-paid players.

The 2022 Pro Bowler and 2021 AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year is in negotiations with the Cincinnati Bengals on a long-term contract extension. After the Bengals ended their first practice of mandatory minicamp Tuesday, the franchise’s quarterback had no desire to provide an update to reporters on those contract talks.

“I think I’ve given you guys all the information that I’m comfortable with sharing about that process,” he said. “As far as questions go about that, probably save that for another time.”

Cincinnati picked up Burrow’s fifth-year option in April. So, at the very least, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 draft is under contract through the 2024 season.

In the meantime, Burrow said his goals are simple. He wants to win the Super Bowl and he wants to supplant Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes as the “best in the world.”

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Giants had little to say on Tuesday about contract talks with running back Saquon Barkley after the 26-year-old complained over the weekend that the team was leaking information to make him look bad.

Barkley, who was given a non-exclusive franchise tag in March, was not able to attend the start of the team’s mandatory two-day minicamp because he had not signed the franchise tender nor reached an agreement on a new long-term contract.

The Giants and Barkley have until July 17 to reach a long-term deal. If they don’t, Barkley can either sign the franchise tender, which would pay him $10.1 million this season, or he could sit out the season.

That would seem unlikely because Barkley would not be paid and the NFL team would have the right to franchise him again for the 2024 season.

Barkley also is free to negotiate a deal with any club. If he does, the Giants have the right to match any offer or accept two first-round draft choices from the team that signs him.

The best option is a new contract. There were reports that the two sides were close months ago on deals that would have paid him an average of $12 million to $14 million annually. The sixth-year pro said those numbers were misleading, and he blamed the team for that.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Odell Beckham Jr. is finally back.

For the first time in 16 months, Beckham participated in a live practice Tuesday as the Baltimore Ravens opened mandatory minicamp.

And even for a player who earned Pro Bowl acclaim his first three seasons and helped the Los Angeles Rams win the Super Bowl two seasons ago, it felt like a big step of a long journey.

“I think I’ve been trying to not think about it so much, because there’s been so many disappointments,” Beckham said prior to Tuesday’s practice. “And I’ve been in a good mental headspace, to where I’ve tried to downplay this. But I definitely think that I’ll be excited to put a jersey on and go out and do the thing that you’ve done your whole life and that you love to do.”

Beckham did not play last season following ACL surgery that came after suffering a knee injury during the second quarter of that Super Bowl victory in February 2022.

JETS: New York signed former Green Bay Packers safety Adrian Amos to a one-year deal. The deal is reportedly worth as much as $4 million. Amos gives New York eight former Packers who are now on the Jets. That list also includes quarterback Aaron Rodgers, backup QB Tim Boyle, wide receivers Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb and Malik Taylor and offensive linemen Billy Turner and Adam Pankey.

CHIEFS: All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones, who is entering the final year of his contract with Kansas City, was absent from the start of the Super Bowl champions’ mandatory three-day minicamp Tuesday. Jones is entering the final year of his contract with the Super Bowl champions. Chiefs coach Andy Reid is not expected to speak until Thursday, and the Chiefs did not make anyone else available to discuss Jones’ absence