Can you dig it! For the second time in his career, Stefon Diggs has been traded.
The Buffalo Bills are trading Diggs to the Houston Texans along with a 2024 sixth-round pick and a 2025 fifth-rounder in exchange for a second-round selection in 2025, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported on Wednesday, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.
Following a 2020 trade from the Minnesota Vikings, Diggs reached the 1,100-plus-yard receiving mark in each of his four seasons with the Bills, including pacing the NFL with 127 receptions and 1,535 yards in his first season alongside quarterback Josh Allen.
Adding Diggs is a game-changing move for the Texans, who add another weapon to the arsenal for signal caller C.J. Stroud. The 30-year-old wideout joins Nico Collins and Tank Dell to form one of the best receiver trios in the league. Diggs’ ability to dominate one-on-ones matchups and get open in the blind of an eye off the line will give Stroud a reliable veteran to count on. All three receivers should complement each other’s strengths well, giving offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik the ability to threaten defenses at every level.
Diggs’ presence should also help ensure that new running back Joe Mixon sees light boxes for the majority of the season. Toss in tight end Dalton Schultz and a good offensive line, and the Houston offense is clicking on all cylinders heading into the 2024 campaign.
Credit general manager Nick Caserio for making impactful moves this offseason to take advantage of his young Pro Bowl quarterback. Stroud is set up to continue his upward trajectory after an award-winning rookie season.
In Buffalo, the team seemed to be growing tired of the disgruntled pass catcher.
For the lion’s share of his run in Buffalo, Diggs was a target hog but for good reason, with Allen looking his way often as Diggs churned out 5,372 yards and 37 touchdowns over four campaigns.
However, following the dismissal of offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey and the promotion of Joe Brady to that position last season, Diggs saw his role diminish significantly. In the final seven regular season games and two playoff tilts, the wideout never hit the 100-yard mark, and his playtime went from consistently around 90% to following off into the 60s.
Embed from Getty ImagesThere was also last offseason’s drama to consider, including Diggs missing part of mandatory minicamp, which led to coach Sean McDermott’s comments that he was “very concerned” about the wideout’s absence. The club and Diggs moved forward from that offseason drama, but things never seemed to get back on track.
Last season, Diggs had repeatedly publicly expressed his desire to stay with the Bills. The three-time captain signed a four-year, $140 million contract extension in April 2022.
Trading Diggs leaves Buffalo with north of $31,096 million in dead cap, per Over The Cap, and given the little return on the trade (not even a 2024 pick), the Bills clearly were eager to part ways.
Sending Diggs packing to Houston leaves a massive gaping hole in Buffalo’s receiver corps, which also lost Gabe Davis in free agency to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Allen’s top targets are currently Khalil Shakir, Curtis Samuel, Mack Hollins, K.J. Hamler and Justin Shorter.
Most predictions pegged the Bills adding a first-round receiver. Following the Diggs news, those mocks will only heighten.
Jettisoning Diggs continues the offseason overhaul in Buffalo that saw the Bills move on from Diggs, Davis, Mitch Morse, Jordan Poyer, Tre’Davious White among others.
Everyone one around NFL circles knew that there was a strong possibility that would see a different Bills club on the field in 2024. Shipping out Diggs underscores that fact with an exclamation point.
