It did mean something. It was about not only a rebuild but also a culture change. The Bills had a losing culture. Losing was expected and acceptable. The organization had to take a step back and clean house. That meant trading talented players like Marcel Darius and Sammy Watkins. That process was completed by the end of the 2018 season. I think that the culture is now strong enough that they could bring some nasty into the mix, but what do I know?
You have to see it in the context of the stuff that was said in the offseason, the stuff Whitlock wrote, and the Buffalo News story from last week about how much he yells at his teammates. He's in damage control mode.
Stef's main weakness as a player is that he lets trash-talking DBs get under his skin. Remember Jaire Alexander last year? Remember Eli Apple in the playoffs? So I'm not surprised that he was offended by this.