After finishing with at least 100 receiving yards in five of his first six games, Stefon Diggs didn’t put up nearly the same numbers through the final three months of the season. In his final 11 regular-season games, Diggs averaged only five catches for 51 yards per contest, and he scored only three touchdowns over that span. Things didn’t get any better in the playoffs, with the Bills wideout hauling in only 73 receiving yards. This includes a playoff loss to the Chiefs where he had a season-low 21 receiving yards and dropped a crucial fourth-quarter pass.
Considering his drop in production, some have speculated that Diggs may be frustrated in Buffalo and looking for a change. Tony Pauline of Sportskeeda.com says that’s not the case, as Diggs isn’t expected to ask for a trade. Diggs discussed his future in Buffalo while attending this week’s Pro Bowl Games, marking the first time he’s talked with reporters since Buffalo was eliminated from the playoffs. The receiver was generally noncommittal about his future, just stating that he’s “ready to go no matter which way it goes.”
“I feel like I take it day by day,” Diggs said (via ESPN’s Stephen Holder). “Obviously, there’s a lot of changes going on, a lot of things going on. I can’t really put the carriage before the horse, you know what I’m saying? But I got a great offseason in front of me to put a lot of work in and kind of build around what we got and what we’re doing.
“I can’t tell you what the future holds, but I’m still being me.”
Diggs is a questionable trade/release candidate just by virtue of his contract. He’ll account for a $27.35MM cap hit next season, and there’s three years remaining on the four-year extension he inked back in 2022. The Bills would face significant dead cap if they cut the veteran, and his incoming salary would likely be untenable for many trade suitors.
As a result, Pete King of Football Morning in America believes that GM Brandon Beane and the Bills front office will ultimately do “major surgery” on the wide receiver’s deal, and the writer suspects that Diggs wouldn’t be happy about that arrangement. Pauline agrees that a restructured Diggs contract would partly help the cap-strapped Bills, but he’s also wary of how that move would impact the player’s attitude.
For what it’s worth, it doesn’t sound like the Bills are particularly anxious to get rid of Diggs. Beane told reporters that he expects the two-time All-Pro receiver to continue leading their depth chart in 2024.
“He’s a No. 1 receiver,” Beane said (via Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic). “I firmly believe that. I’m not wavering off of that. Listen, we have to continue to put weapons out there to keep teams from bracketing him or, you know, locking him down in different ways to take him away.”
I watched a bunch of Bills games and he seemed to have a difficult time getting open. Did he have some kind of issue physically or was he just frustrated and not giving a full effort?
Probably both.
This guy is overpaid. He getting paid to catch the ball. What I see with him. He got a big mouth. He dropped a long pass from our quarterback that probably cost us the game. It’s time to get him out of buffalo now. He got good trade value and free up cap space.
Being Josh Allen’s primary target for a few years has resulted in him getting a lot more coverage from opposing defenders. Obviously that excuse can’t be used for every drop or missed catch, but to be fair, those are throws that Allen probably shouldn’t attempt when he has other options with less coverage.
Every year, “sources” tell the media that Diggs is unhappy in Buffalo, and he has said time and time again that the rumors are not true.
Obviously just an observation but when it matters most he vanishes. He seems like a me first guy. He was invisible when they needed him. He is completely over paid. Compared to other receivers at same price he pales in comparison.
He has good numbers but like ARod. Teams up or down by 20 his numbers are good. When game is tight and he needs to step up he drops the ball.