Cutting the cord on a productive but stressful Stefon Diggs period, the Bills are eating the most dead money ever brought on by a wide receiver. They accepted a Texans offer centered around a 2025 second-round pick, effectively resetting at wide receiver during an offseason that had already seen the AFC power part with a few veteran pieces.
The Bills, however, were believed to be planning to keep Diggs for the 2024 season. Despite the headaches the talented wideout had been known to cause, The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia and Dianna Russini indicate GM Brandon Beane had Diggs in his plans — as he had said previously this offseason (subscription required). While decision-makers often backtrack on such statements via subsequent trades, the Bills were still aiming to retain Diggs as his extension years started.
Given the $31.1MM in dead money hitting Buffalo’s 2024 cap sheet, it makes sense the team was moving forward with the perennial Pro Bowler. But the Texans called about the nine-year veteran Tuesday, per The Athletic, and the Bills discussed the deal to the point ownership was brought in on the matter. Buffalo agreed to the terms this morning, sending Diggs to Houston to team with Nico Collins and Tank Dell around C.J. Stroud‘s rookie contract. As the Texans load up around a rookie contract, the Bills are retooling around their veteran QB accord.
While the structure of Diggs’ 2022 extension will put the Bills in a tough spot this year, the team looks to have viewed a future second-rounder — initially a Vikings pick obtained by the Texans last month — as sufficient value for a player who would have been less likely to fetch such an asset as he aged. Diggs will turn 31 this season. Considering Keenan Allen commanded only a fourth-rounder last month, Diggs bringing back a second-round choice — one tied to a Minnesota team that just lost Kirk Cousins — brought decent value for a player who struggled down the stretch of his age-30 season.
Beane said (via the Buffalo News’ Ryan O’Halloran) the Bills are “by no means” taking a step back, but the four-time reigning division champs have moved on from several longtime starters this offseason. They released seven-year safety starter Jordan Poyer, five-year center bastion Mitch Morse and injury-prone All-Pro cornerback Tre’Davious White. Buffalo also has Micah Hyde, who joined Poyer in being part of Sean McDermott‘s first free agency class, unsigned. The team has a new safety plan, and David Edwards is poised to take over at center. But wide receiver has gone from a top need to a glaring deficiency.
Other Diggs inquiries have come in, Beane said (via ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg), but the Bills — who parted with a package fronted by a 2020 first-round pick — viewed this one as enough to move on. The calls on Diggs date back to last year, with Beane declining to confirm (via the Boston Sports Journal’s Mike Giardi) if the wide receiver requested a trade. The eighth-year GM informed Josh Allen about the prospect of a trade before it was finalized, Getzenberg adds.
This move guts Allen’s receiving corps. Although the Bills saw promising early returns from 2023 first-round tight end Dalton Kincaid, Diggs and Gabe Davis operated as Allen’s Nos. 1 and 2 wideouts for the past two seasons. That came after Davis’ four-TD game in the 2021 divisional round. Diggs delivered two 1,400-plus-yard seasons as a Bill, leading the NFL in receiving yards upon being acquired in 2020. A notable slump took place to close last season.
Diggs did not score a touchdown over the Bills’ final seven regular-season games and averaged just 41.0 yards per game in that span. He closed the year with a three-catch, 21-yard showing against the Chiefs — a game Davis missed — and dropped a well-placed Allen pass on a potential game-winning drive. This may well have convinced Bills management their top wide receiver was no longer worth the trouble.
Diggs’ antics in the past wore on the Bills, per The Athletic’s Tim Graham, who adds the team’s power brokers were ready to move on. Diggs’ various social media posts were an issue in Minnesota as well; hours before the trade, he also fired off a tweet questioning Allen’s value compared to his own. The mercurial receiver has been seen griping on the sideline, and after he stormed out of the team’s locker room following the Bills’ upset loss to the Bengals in last year’s divisional round, a still-unsolved minicamp controversy surfaced after Diggs left the team’s facility last June. That required some careful management from McDermott, Beane and Allen.
Still, the Bills lost a No. 1 target and cap space. Before the savings from the White post-June 1 cut hit, the Bills are down below $4MM in cap space. The team holds the No. 28 overall pick in this year’s draft. After using its top draft asset to acquire Diggs four years ago, the team will almost definitely dive into another WR-heavy draft to address the position with a cheap contract to align with Allen’s $43MM-AAV deal.
So…they’re trying to contend, but traded their best WR because the Texans gave them a very nice offer? Not sure that was the smartest plan.
That obviously wasn’t the plan and there’s no way a 2025 #2 pick made the difference. Diggs was obviously up to his old games and they ditched him before his trade value dropped even more…
This doesn’t pass the smell test. They were going to keep their number one receiver and not take a $31 million dead cap hit, but they couldn’t resist a second round pick in 2025?
No doubt some behind the scenes stuff happening here. That plus Diggs being awful down the stretch last year made the cap hit palatable. The question the Texans should be asking is whether his poor play was part of a physical decline or if he was just disgruntled and frustrated.
That pick is coming from the Vikings who are likely to be bad next year so it could be an early 2nd rounder. The Bills offense was also better last year once Diggs became less of a factor. This will be a good move for them in the long run
it’s all about the Benjamin’s- and Diggs being a pain in the back side.
Agree. The truth may come out someday, but Diggs has a track record of discontent that probably kicked into high gear recently which fueled the fire sale.
Trading Watson has yielded
Anderson Dell Pierce Diggs and a 2024 2nd rounder off top of my head.
Caserio took a lot of heat taking over a bad situation but has really done amazing job with the rebuild considering his first draft they had no 1st or 2nd rounder. More so he’s kept the financials clean
Yeah, kinda felt like they were spinning their wheels for a while there, but he ended up putting Stroud in a good position to succeed and kept his powder dry to fire after he hit on a QB. Looking really good. Hopefully for them Kenyon Green turns into a solid contributor, too, but right now they’re looking like they can afford to have whiffed on that one.
Bills under 7 wins
LOL, neither Diggs nor Davis were factors in the winning streak down the stretch. One is already replaced and the other will come in the draft.
Interesting development for both team’s on field play in 2024. I’m going under on Texans and over on Bills.
Sherminator ……
It’s not that easy. For starters , you don’t think the success of the players that were making the plays were not aided by defenses having a game plan for Diggs and Davis ? They were. Now Kincaid will be blanketed … in most cases rookies at best take a few games to develop and be reliable … and those few games will likely be losses ..
So to “ mycommentisbetter” point – of under 7 wins … it’s a possibility in that division. However – I think 8ish …
Josh Allen will have to be more of a Superman than he ever has been
The biggest factor in their winning stretch was they finally ran the ball.
Yes – exactly my point , they ran the ball well because the threat of Diggs , Davis … on the outside. Now there will be stacked boxes until rookie receivers prove their worth.
No, they ran the ball better because Brady spread the ball around more, especially to the TEs, RBs and receivers like Shakir. Diggs was not getting double-teamed any more than Shakir or Kinkade in the playoffs and anyone who watched the games would know that.
Gabe Davis isn’t good.
Josh Allen needs Diggs.
Josh Allen needs Diggs like he needs a hole in his head. Buffalo brass is pinching themselves that they found a trade partner.
Josh Allen was nothing before Diggs came around…. But yeah sure lol.
and Josh was still lights out when his new OC started giving other receivers the ball. Diggs all but disappeared at the end of the season (when their winning streak started) and into the playoffs. He caught a third of his targets, including missing an easy catch that could have been the game-winner over KC. Rumor is he didn’t like Brady’s playcalling and wanted out…
Lights out? He threw for under 250/G while averaging 1.4 TD and 1 INT once the OC was gone. Not to mention played Jets (Lol), Chargers (Lol x2), and the Patriots (Lol x7) in those games. While only throwing for 94 yards against Dallas.
Idk that’s not very lights out in my book. And, per usual, they watched the SB from home. Under 7 wins easily this year.
I’ll take the over on 7. And all your money.
Thanks.
Bye.
Doubt it.
The Bills only have 2 picks in the top 100; #’s 28 & 60 this year. Might as well trade one of those pick back & get more for this year & next. Helping reset their books as well.
Arty, they gotta get a WR. Probably 2 to compete this year.
Im usually 100 percent in the trade down mentally – but they gotta get that number 1 guy.
I think it might be more likely they use dome of the day 3s to get back into the end of round 3.
WGR has been speculating a large trade to get a guy like Odunze, but I don’t think its likely.
Don’t know that I think its that drastic, but I also wouldn’t be shocked if they flipped the farm on Marvin Harrison Jr. If they’re going to get a true #1 WR, and pair it with Allen’s contract, the WR needs to be on a rookie deal. If they go balls out, the plan would be to have pick 32 next year. What’s that Minny second gonna be? This year’s 1st, next year’s 1st, plus tap into the pick surplus. It’s there if they want it.
I don’t see Bills trading up for 1 guy. They need depth more than quality.
You have a franchise QB and while I’m sure bill fans want a Harrison Jr Nabers Odunze they need to trust their franchise Qb can create for their rookie WRs they take late in the 1st and late in the 2nd. They also need to add to oline to protect the franchise QB.
I feel like they may have more depth than you realize. Sure, both sides of the line and the receiver room could use some depth, but they don’t need 9 picks to fill that out. After 6/1 they’ll have another 10MM in cap space for whatever additional depth signings they need. They need a quality WR and a quality Edge Rusher to replace Diggs and Floyd.
Bills1, with where they’re at, they’re not guaranteed to get a number one. MHJ, Odunze… those guys will be long gone. I think I would trade back too, see if I could fill some additional roster holes.
This turd was targeted at 7th highest rate in the NFL in 2023 and he still complained about not getting the ball. Good riddance.
And he caught less than 50% of those balls in the playoffs, to the point now that people think he was making a statement. They may be right.
I still laugh that the Steelers got a 2nd rounder for claypool. What happened to the trade market?
@2012orioles Chase Claypool is what happened to the trade market. Teams don’t want to do what the Bears did and trade for the next diva WR and get little or no production from him.
These NFL contracts are quirky and much more complicated and harder to understand than MLB contracts.
Why do the Bills have 30 million or whatever in dead money for Diggs?
If he is signed to say, a 4yr 100 million dollar contract, why doesn’t that 4 years and 100 mill contract go to Texans? Where’s the dead money come from??
Dead money comes from compensation paid to a player that wasn’t accounted against the cap already. A guy gets paid a large signing bonus, the team chooses to average it out against future cap years. They move on from the player. They now have to take a cap hit for the money they already paid him but did not take a cap hit on. The new team only takes a cap hit for the money they actually pay him. The Bills are taking a cap hit for the 31MM they paid him in prior seasons that they avoided cap hits on in those years.
Thanks, Rogue. That makes sense.
Beane answered every question except the one about whether Diggs requested a trade. Obviously, Diggs requested a trade.
If anything, I believe Neane and McDermott did a lot to hide Diggs bad behavior and discontent. Now it’s the Texans’ time to deal with his personality, especially if he ends up as WR 3. That won’t go well.