Bills trade Diggs to Texans
The Buffalo Bills have agreed to trade four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans in a blockbuster move, the Bills announced Wednesday.
The Bills will receive a 2025 second-round pick (via the Minnesota Vikings), while the Texans get Diggs, a 2024 sixth-round pick, and a 2025 fifth-rounder.
The move for Diggs caps an aggressive offseason for Houston after Offensive Rookie of the Year winner C.J. Stroud helped the Texans to a shocking last-to-first turnaround in the AFC South in 2023.
Houston also signed pass-rusher Danielle Hunter to a two-year, $49-million deal in free agency, traded for running back Joe Mixon and signed him to a three-year, $27-million extension, and retained tight end Dalton Schultz on a three-year, $36 million contract.
Diggs will join a Texans pass-catching group headlined by 2023 breakout star Nico Collins and Tank Dell, who produced a standout rookie year before a season-ending leg injury.
The Bills' decision to trade Diggs, their leading receiver in his four seasons with the club, leaves Josh Allen with a new-look wideout group of Curtis Samuel, Khalil Shakir, and Mack Hollins. Buffalo added Samuel and Hollins through free agency.
"Are we better today? Probably not," Bills general manager Brandon Beane said, according to Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic. "I just hope people know I'm competitive as hell."
Beane also declined to answer if Diggs requested a trade and said he hasn't spoken with Allen since the transaction went through, per Buscaglia.
Diggs was rumored to be a potential trade candidate. However, his contract appeared to be a big hurdle, with a pre-June 1 trade giving the Bills a non-quarterback record dead cap hit of $31.096 million in 2024, according to Over The Cap's Jason Fitzgerald.
Buffalo will also lose around $4 million in 2024 cap space, as Diggs was set to carry a $27.85-million hit after signing a four-year, $104-million extension in April 2022.
Diggs has been among the most productive NFL receivers since joining the Bills in 2020 in a trade from the Vikings, ranking first in catches (445) and fourth in receiving yards (5,372) and touchdowns (37).
But Diggs' role in Buffalo's offense diminished last season. After producing five 100-yard games in the first six weeks, the veteran failed to hit that milestone for the rest of the campaign, culminating with a three-catch, 21-yard performance in the divisional-round loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Diggs is the latest key veteran player the Bills have parted ways with this offseason, along with receiver Gabe Davis, cornerback Tre'Davious White, center Mitch Morse, and safety Jordan Poyer.
"I can't begin to express the amount of love and respect I have for the city of Buffalo. Four of the best years of my life; the city welcomed me with open arms. I'm forever grateful for you all and the Buffalo Bills organization," Diggs wrote in a statement posted to Instagram.