If you’re a Detroit Lions fan who’s still upset about the unceremonious parting with former safety Quandre Diggs, well, you’re not alone. He might still be in the same boat.
He talked to Seahawks media ahead of Sunday’s return to Detroit, where personality clashes between he and then-head coach Matt Patricia in 2019 landed him (and a seventh-round pick) a ticket to Seattle in exchange for a fifth-round draft choice.
Diggs has since become a two-time Pro Bowler — a feat he never accomplished with the Lions — but has not yet returned to Detroit for a game since departing. It’s clear the emotions will be running high; and yet, a lot of them will be positive.
“It’s always a special place for me,” Diggs said. “Even like watching on film, you know? Just seeing the turf and seeing the fans in the stadium, it brings back memories, of course. Detroit is what made me into who I am now…
“It’ll be different walking down that tunnel as a visitor, but I mean, it is what it is. I’m here now, I’m blessed, and I think it’ll be super, super dope.”
Diggs was drafted out of Texas No. 200 overall in 2015. He played sparingly for his first two seasons but eventually became known as a hard-hitting safety with a knack for a timely interception, and was a full-time starter by 2018 — his last full season with the Lions.
He didn’t go into specifics — “it’s all types of stuff out there for you guys to dive in and dig in,” he said — but clearly still has hard feelings for the regime that pushed him out of town.
“You guys have been around me long enough; you know I’m a pretty outspoken guy,” Diggs said.
“And some people can’t take that, so there you go.”
Despite that, he hasn’t let that cloud the positive memories that he created with the Lions.
“Detroit went and took a shot on a sixth-round guy from Texas. … I might not be who I am today (if Detroit didn’t draft me),” Diggs said. “The Ford family, Jim Caldwell and that coaching staff, that’s what made me. I mean, you guys gotta think, before I was here with you guys, I was in Detroit, making a name for myself.”
Not only does he hold reverence for his former life, but he even spoke glowingly about Lions coach Dan Campbell and the direction of the franchise.
“That’s a different regime, now. (Patricia and former general manager Bob Quinn) are gone,” Diggs said. “Dan Campbell’s in and I love what they’re doing, so it’s cool to see those guys back on the right track.”
nbianchi@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @nolanbianchi