Stefon Diggs shakes former teammate Dawson Knox’s hand before a game. PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Ben Staker
Sports Editor
On Wednesday, April 3, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that the Buffalo Bills traded their star wide receiver Stefon Diggs, a 2024 sixth-round pick, and a 2025 fifth-round pick to the Houston Texans for a 2025 second-round pick, via the Minnesota Vikings.
This move is interesting for both teams for multiple reasons. It leaves many people speculating what went wrong for Stefon Diggs in Buffalo. For the last four years he and his quarterback, Josh Allen, seemed to have one of the best connections in football. There had been rumors for months leading up to the trade that the Bills could move on from Diggs, but it didn’t seem to be a financially responsible move due to the amount of money they would owe him.
Of course, though, the Bills ended up finalizing a trade to send Diggs to the Houston Texans. This trade finds Diggs teaming up with one of the NFL’s youngest up-and-coming teams. He will have the opportunity to catch passes from second-year quarterback C.J. Stroud, which is the most appealing part of this trade. Last season, the Texans lost in the divisional round to the Baltimore Ravens and came into this offseason looking to make a couple of big moves. Trading for Stefon Diggs is just the latest of them.
Giving C.J. Stroud the opportunity the throw to the likes of Stefon Diggs, Nico Collins, and Tank Dell immediately makes the Texans a contender in the AFC. They knew that they needed to make some moves to separate themselves from the other teams that they would be competing against and this move proves that.
As for the other side of the trade, it leaves the Buffalo Bills with a glaring hole at the wide receiver position. While Stefon Diggs didn’t produce at his normal level for the second half of the season, his production in the past can’t just be replaced at the snap of a finger. This trade likely puts the Bills in a position to trade up in the first round of the NFL draft and take a wide receiver now, but they can’t expect that player to step in and fill the shoes of the guy they’re losing right away. Progression takes time, but they seem to be content with that.
Another interesting thing to note is that the Bills traded Diggs to another contender in the same conference as them. They allowed someone that they’ll be competing against to get better, while simultaneously getting worse themselves.
In my opinion, I think that this trade indicates that the Buffalo Bills will likely be resetting their team this year in hopes of preparing for the future. This trade may not seem very good for them now, but it could when we revisit it a few years later.
I’ve always been a fan of Stefon Diggs and the Buffalo Bills, so I can’t wait to see how both do without each other next season. For now, we have to wait until September to see that happen though.