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Diggs to Houston

Only time will tell.......................​


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The Stefon Diggs trade continues to make less sense as time goes on​

Why did the Houston Texans give up a second-round pick for a rental?

By Chad Porto | May 31, 2024​


When the Houston Texans traded for Stefon Diggs, the idea was that he would be here long-term. Why else give up a second-round draft pick to acquire Diggs? The pick is pretty valuable and the idea was that Diggs would be here for four seasons.

Then the Texans voided the three final years on that four-year deal. So now Diggs was playing on a one-year deal. A deal that we all thought was now designed to get him one last payday; hopefully with the Houston Texans. The club wanted Diggs and now that they had him, they wouldn't do anything that would jeopardize his future, right?

Well, with a few days left to go in May, the Texans made a shocking decision to sign fellow wide receiver Nico Collins to an extension. His deal would be for three years and will cost the team $72.5 million over that period. $52 million of it guaranteed. Essentially, it was the money that we all thought Diggs would get this offseason from the Texans.

With Collins now making around (if not over) $20+ million over the next three years, there's very little likelihood that the team would offer Diggs a similar contract. After all, that's what Diggs was making with the Buffalo Bills. Would the Texans give $40+ million to two players, at the same position over the next four years?

What about Tank Dell? What happens when his rookie deal comes due, assuming he continues to produce and improve? This is the issue at hand. The Texans have all but assured the fandom that Diggs is gone after the 2024 season. There's a chance he'd take a pay cut, sure, but with his track record, and past behavior, we know that he's not going to take a significant pay cut if he doesn't have to.

He'll leave, thinking he's still a $20+ million a year player. So either you over-pay for an aging Diggs, just to justify the second-round draft pick you gave up in the process, or you let him walk and essentially waste that second-round pick.
Knowing that the pick may essentially get wasted, just makes his whole trade all the more confusing. After all, the Texans didn't need Diggs. So why waste a pick to get him for one year?

Nico Collins is officially staying put in Houston until the 2028 season after the Texans signed him to a three-year contract extension worth just over $72 million. This deal puts Collins in the top 10 of the highest-paid wide receivers in the league, according to Spotrac.

One question that pops into mind is: how will this impact Stefon Diggs' future on the team? The answer is one that not many people might agree with. That is, nothing about Collins' new contract changed anything to do with Diggs' future in Houston.

After taking his new deal and voiding years in his contract, this was always going to be a season in which Diggs had to prove that if he wanted more money heading into his 2025 campaign, where he will turn 32 years old, he could still go at a high level after seeing his production dip in the back end of
 
CloakNNNdagger said:

Only time will tell.......................​


****************************************************************************************************************

The Stefon Diggs trade continues to make less sense as time goes on​

Why did the Houston Texans give up a second-round pick for a rental?

By Chad Porto | May 31, 2024​


When the Houston Texans traded for Stefon Diggs, the idea was that he would be here long-term. Why else give up a second-round draft pick to acquire Diggs? The pick is pretty valuable and the idea was that Diggs would be here for four seasons.

Then the Texans voided the three final years on that four-year deal. So now Diggs was playing on a one-year deal. A deal that we all thought was now designed to get him one last payday; hopefully with the Houston Texans. The club wanted Diggs and now that they had him, they wouldn't do anything that would jeopardize his future, right?

Well, with a few days left to go in May, the Texans made a shocking decision to sign fellow wide receiver Nico Collins to an extension. His deal would be for three years and will cost the team $72.5 million over that period. $52 million of it guaranteed. Essentially, it was the money that we all thought Diggs would get this offseason from the Texans.

With Collins now making around (if not over) $20+ million over the next three years, there's very little likelihood that the team would offer Diggs a similar contract. After all, that's what Diggs was making with the Buffalo Bills. Would the Texans give $40+ million to two players, at the same position over the next four years?

What about Tank Dell? What happens when his rookie deal comes due, assuming he continues to produce and improve? This is the issue at hand. The Texans have all but assured the fandom that Diggs is gone after the 2024 season. There's a chance he'd take a pay cut, sure, but with his track record, and past behavior, we know that he's not going to take a significant pay cut if he doesn't have to.

He'll leave, thinking he's still a $20+ million a year player. So either you over-pay for an aging Diggs, just to justify the second-round draft pick you gave up in the process, or you let him walk and essentially waste that second-round pick.
Knowing that the pick may essentially get wasted, just makes his whole trade all the more confusing. After all, the Texans didn't need Diggs. So why waste a pick to get him for one year?

Nico Collins is officially staying put in Houston until the 2028 season after the Texans signed him to a three-year contract extension worth just over $72 million. This deal puts Collins in the top 10 of the highest-paid wide receivers in the league, according to Spotrac.

One question that pops into mind is: how will this impact Stefon Diggs' future on the team? The answer is one that not many people might agree with. That is, nothing about Collins' new contract changed anything to do with Diggs' future in Houston.

After taking his new deal and voiding years in his contract, this was always going to be a season in which Diggs had to prove that if he wanted more money heading into his 2025 campaign, where he will turn 32 years old, he could still go at a high level after seeing his production dip in the back end of
Click to expand...
Again, Chad shows he has no understanding of salary cap. We have ~$18 million to extend Diggs today if Nick and Ryans wants to; which is the cap amount in 2025 for Collins. Cap isn't the issue; Texans want to know if the downturn in Diggs' stats 2nd half 2024 were deteriorating skills or something else.

Caserio has masterfully managed the cap and I see no reason to be concerned about 3 to 4 years from now.
I would not be shocked to see a one year extension ~$20 m during this season for Stefon.
 
badboy said:
Again, Chad shows he has no understanding of salary cap. We have ~$18 million to extend Diggs today if Nick and Ryans wants to; which is the cap amount in 2025 for Collins. Cap isn't the issue; Texans want to know if the downturn in Diggs' stats 2nd half 2024 were deteriorating skills or something else.

Caserio has masterfully managed the cap and I see no reason to be concerned about 3 to 4 years from now.
I would not be shocked to see a one year extension ~$20 m during this season for Stefon.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't be shocked to see that either.. I'd be completely flabbergasted.

I don't think there's a snowball's chance in Houston that Diggs is looking to play on year to year deals at this point in his career. Almost a lock he's looking for one last hard to pick up with two hands bag. I imagine he wants to go out and ball his ass off to show the league what he's still got, in the meantime look around at what the Justin Jeffersons and Ja'Marr Chases and CeeDee Lambs of the league get, and try and find himself a nice comfy slot after them to ride off into the contractual sunset with.
 
Mollywhopper said:
I wouldn't be shocked to see that either.. I'd be completely flabbergasted.

I don't think there's a snowball's chance in Houston that Diggs is looking to play on year to year deals at this point in his career. Almost a lock he's looking for one last hard to pick up with two hands bag. I imagine he wants to go out and ball his ass off to show the league what he's still got, in the meantime look around at what the Justin Jeffersons and Ja'Marr Chases and CeeDee Lambs of the league get, and try and find himself a nice comfy slot after them to ride off into the contractual sunset with.
Click to expand...
I completely agree with what you say Diggs wants. I disagree that Diggs will be able to get that anywhere.
 
Mollywhopper said:
My point was in the unlikelihood of him signing a 1 yr deal during this season..
Click to expand...
I understood your point I just disagree with it. I think there's a strong likelihood especially if we go deep in the playoffs as most predict, he will extend. We do have the money to pay him if we choose.
Of course that is predicated on health and his statistics.
 
badboy said:
I understood your point I just disagree with it. I think there's a strong likelihood especially if we go deep in the playoffs as most predict, he will extend. We do have the money to pay him if we choose.
Of course that is predicated on health and his statistics.
Click to expand...
The remaining years on his contract weren't voided just to put him back at square one going into 2025..
 
The object, for the Texans, is to win a SB this year. Signing Diggs makes sense in that regard. And if glory comes to H-Town, then Diggs will probably want to stay. Maybe. In any case, we can always get another one year rental and maybe draft one. Tricky Nick does things his own way.
 
Thorn said:
The object, for the Texans, is to win a SB this year. Signing Diggs makes sense in that regard. And if glory comes to H-Town, then Diggs will probably want to stay. Maybe. In any case, we can always get another one year rental and maybe draft one. Tricky Nick does things his own way.
Click to expand...
Exactly I just hope he can increase his touchdowns
 
JCTexan said:
Even if Diggs is only a one year rental it makes sense because he gives Stroud another playmaker and makes a sophomore slump less likely for CJ.
Click to expand...
A QB sophomore slump is on the QB himself whether he has 1 great receiver or 4 great receivers. If he can't get the ball consistently to 1 receiver, it is just as likely he won't be able to get it to 4 receivers. Let's just hope CJ doesn't have a sophomore slump.
 
badboy said:
Why do you think they were voided?
Click to expand...
Just my feeble opinion, but I think it was in large part to make him as receptive as could be to coming here right off the rip. It also works to get not just the best demeanor from Diggs but also put him in show out mode for the deal he's really angling for, be it here or likely elsewhere.

In the meantime it appears that it may have also been to move money to make room for an already in the works Nico extension.

So at the end of the day we've moved down 19 spots in the draft to acquire a perennial stud in Diggs, and made a move on his deal to get the absolute best out of what he's got left to give while we've got our feet on the gas, and finnagled those finances to secure our own rising star WR1 for the future.

Again, just my spitball thoughts on it..
 
CloakNNNdagger said:

Only time will tell.......................​


****************************************************************************************************************

The Stefon Diggs trade continues to make less sense as time goes on​

Why did the Houston Texans give up a second-round pick for a rental?

By Chad Porto | May 31, 2024​


When the Houston Texans traded for Stefon Diggs, the idea was that he would be here long-term. Why else give up a second-round draft pick to acquire Diggs? The pick is pretty valuable and the idea was that Diggs would be here for four seasons.

Then the Texans voided the three final years on that four-year deal. So now Diggs was playing on a one-year deal. A deal that we all thought was now designed to get him one last payday; hopefully with the Houston Texans. The club wanted Diggs and now that they had him, they wouldn't do anything that would jeopardize his future, right?

Well, with a few days left to go in May, the Texans made a shocking decision to sign fellow wide receiver Nico Collins to an extension. His deal would be for three years and will cost the team $72.5 million over that period. $52 million of it guaranteed. Essentially, it was the money that we all thought Diggs would get this offseason from the Texans.

With Collins now making around (if not over) $20+ million over the next three years, there's very little likelihood that the team would offer Diggs a similar contract. After all, that's what Diggs was making with the Buffalo Bills. Would the Texans give $40+ million to two players, at the same position over the next four years?

What about Tank Dell? What happens when his rookie deal comes due, assuming he continues to produce and improve? This is the issue at hand. The Texans have all but assured the fandom that Diggs is gone after the 2024 season. There's a chance he'd take a pay cut, sure, but with his track record, and past behavior, we know that he's not going to take a significant pay cut if he doesn't have to.

He'll leave, thinking he's still a $20+ million a year player. So either you over-pay for an aging Diggs, just to justify the second-round draft pick you gave up in the process, or you let him walk and essentially waste that second-round pick.
Knowing that the pick may essentially get wasted, just makes his whole trade all the more confusing. After all, the Texans didn't need Diggs. So why waste a pick to get him for one year?

Nico Collins is officially staying put in Houston until the 2028 season after the Texans signed him to a three-year contract extension worth just over $72 million. This deal puts Collins in the top 10 of the highest-paid wide receivers in the league, according to Spotrac.

One question that pops into mind is: how will this impact Stefon Diggs' future on the team? The answer is one that not many people might agree with. That is, nothing about Collins' new contract changed anything to do with Diggs' future in Houston.

After taking his new deal and voiding years in his contract, this was always going to be a season in which Diggs had to prove that if he wanted more money heading into his 2025 campaign, where he will turn 32 years old, he could still go at a high level after seeing his production dip in the back end of
Click to expand...

Diggs trade and restructure makes perfect sense when you realize the team believes they can win a superbowl this season and a Diggs playing for his next contract gives them a much better shot to do it, even if only a one year rental.
 
CloakNNNdagger said:

Only time will tell.......................​


****************************************************************************************************************

The Stefon Diggs trade continues to make less sense as time goes on​

Why did the Houston Texans give up a second-round pick for a rental?

By Chad Porto | May 31, 2024​


When the Houston Texans traded for Stefon Diggs, the idea was that he would be here long-term. Why else give up a second-round draft pick to acquire Diggs? The pick is pretty valuable and the idea was that Diggs would be here for four seasons.

Then the Texans voided the three final years on that four-year deal. So now Diggs was playing on a one-year deal. A deal that we all thought was now designed to get him one last payday; hopefully with the Houston Texans. The club wanted Diggs and now that they had him, they wouldn't do anything that would jeopardize his future, right?

Well, with a few days left to go in May, the Texans made a shocking decision to sign fellow wide receiver Nico Collins to an extension. His deal would be for three years and will cost the team $72.5 million over that period. $52 million of it guaranteed. Essentially, it was the money that we all thought Diggs would get this offseason from the Texans.

With Collins now making around (if not over) $20+ million over the next three years, there's very little likelihood that the team would offer Diggs a similar contract. After all, that's what Diggs was making with the Buffalo Bills. Would the Texans give $40+ million to two players, at the same position over the next four years?

What about Tank Dell? What happens when his rookie deal comes due, assuming he continues to produce and improve? This is the issue at hand. The Texans have all but assured the fandom that Diggs is gone after the 2024 season. There's a chance he'd take a pay cut, sure, but with his track record, and past behavior, we know that he's not going to take a significant pay cut if he doesn't have to.

He'll leave, thinking he's still a $20+ million a year player. So either you over-pay for an aging Diggs, just to justify the second-round draft pick you gave up in the process, or you let him walk and essentially waste that second-round pick.
Knowing that the pick may essentially get wasted, just makes his whole trade all the more confusing. After all, the Texans didn't need Diggs. So why waste a pick to get him for one year?

Nico Collins is officially staying put in Houston until the 2028 season after the Texans signed him to a three-year contract extension worth just over $72 million. This deal puts Collins in the top 10 of the highest-paid wide receivers in the league, according to Spotrac.

One question that pops into mind is: how will this impact Stefon Diggs' future on the team? The answer is one that not many people might agree with. That is, nothing about Collins' new contract changed anything to do with Diggs' future in Houston.

After taking his new deal and voiding years in his contract, this was always going to be a season in which Diggs had to prove that if he wanted more money heading into his 2025 campaign, where he will turn 32 years old, he could still go at a high level after seeing his production dip in the back end of
Click to expand...

Toro times is a joke, hell I wrote articles for them a long time ago and I can barely spell my name......
 
Mollywhopper said:
Just my feeble opinion, but I think it was in large part to make him as receptive as could be to coming here right off the rip. It also works to get not just the best demeanor from Diggs but also put him in show out mode for the deal he's really angling for, be it here or likely elsewhere.

In the meantime it appears that it may have also been to move money to make room for an already in the works Nico extension.

So at the end of the day we've moved down 19 spots in the draft to acquire a perennial stud in Diggs, and made a move on his deal to get the absolute best out of what he's got left to give while we've got our feet on the gas, and finnagled those finances to secure our own rising star WR1 for the future.

Again, just my spitball thoughts on it..
Click to expand...
The void years were to spread the $21 million conversion of GTD base money from 2024 and 2025 into a signing bonus with 2024 being year one of five year proration to lower cap hit.
This had nothing to do with Nico Collins extension as they had the money to do so already. Stefon Diggs did not receive any increase in $ or guaranteed $.
He just received the GTD $ from 2025 now. I do agree that as you say it was a another enticement for Diggs to come here in a good frame of mind and play his best.
Hope it works and I think it will.
😃
 
badboy said:
The void years were to spread the $21 million conversion of GTD base money from 2024 and 2025 into a signing bonus with 2024 being year one of five year proration to lower cap hit.
This had nothing to do with Nico Collins extension as they had the money to do so already. Stefon Diggs did not receive any increase in $ or guaranteed $.
He just received the GTD $ from 2025 now. I do agree that as you say it was a another enticement for Diggs to come here in a good frame of mind and play his best.
Hope it works and I think it will.
😃
Click to expand...
The last 4 years of the proration will accelerate all into the 2025 cap as dead money if he isn't resigned. From my selfish perspective, I wish they would've worked out something to ensure Diggs was here for 2 years even if it meant more money. Plus I don't think anyone ever has to worry about his on field effort.
 
KoolAid Sipper said:
The last 4 years of the proration will accelerate all into the 2025 cap as dead money if he isn't resigned. From my selfish perspective, I wish they would've worked out something to ensure Diggs was here for 2 years even if it meant more money. Plus I don't think anyone ever has to worry about his on field effort.
Click to expand...
That is not my understanding as they will not be trading him or a June 1st cut. If I remember correctly, we saw this with Tom Brady's contract with void years. The signing bonus will just continue at four m a year.
 
CloakNNNdagger said:

Only time will tell.......................​


****************************************************************************************************************

The Stefon Diggs trade continues to make less sense as time goes on​

Why did the Houston Texans give up a second-round pick for a rental?

By Chad Porto | May 31, 2024​


When the Houston Texans traded for Stefon Diggs, the idea was that he would be here long-term. Why else give up a second-round draft pick to acquire Diggs? The pick is pretty valuable and the idea was that Diggs would be here for four seasons.

Then the Texans voided the three final years on that four-year deal. So now Diggs was playing on a one-year deal. A deal that we all thought was now designed to get him one last payday; hopefully with the Houston Texans. The club wanted Diggs and now that they had him, they wouldn't do anything that would jeopardize his future, right?

Well, with a few days left to go in May, the Texans made a shocking decision to sign fellow wide receiver Nico Collins to an extension. His deal would be for three years and will cost the team $72.5 million over that period. $52 million of it guaranteed. Essentially, it was the money that we all thought Diggs would get this offseason from the Texans.

With Collins now making around (if not over) $20+ million over the next three years, there's very little likelihood that the team would offer Diggs a similar contract. After all, that's what Diggs was making with the Buffalo Bills. Would the Texans give $40+ million to two players, at the same position over the next four years?

What about Tank Dell? What happens when his rookie deal comes due, assuming he continues to produce and improve? This is the issue at hand. The Texans have all but assured the fandom that Diggs is gone after the 2024 season. There's a chance he'd take a pay cut, sure, but with his track record, and past behavior, we know that he's not going to take a significant pay cut if he doesn't have to.

He'll leave, thinking he's still a $20+ million a year player. So either you over-pay for an aging Diggs, just to justify the second-round draft pick you gave up in the process, or you let him walk and essentially waste that second-round pick.
Knowing that the pick may essentially get wasted, just makes his whole trade all the more confusing. After all, the Texans didn't need Diggs. So why waste a pick to get him for one year?

Nico Collins is officially staying put in Houston until the 2028 season after the Texans signed him to a three-year contract extension worth just over $72 million. This deal puts Collins in the top 10 of the highest-paid wide receivers in the league, according to Spotrac.

One question that pops into mind is: how will this impact Stefon Diggs' future on the team? The answer is one that not many people might agree with. That is, nothing about Collins' new contract changed anything to do with Diggs' future in Houston.

After taking his new deal and voiding years in his contract, this was always going to be a season in which Diggs had to prove that if he wanted more money heading into his 2025 campaign, where he will turn 32 years old, he could still go at a high level after seeing his production dip in the back end of
Click to expand...
This is a modified version of the Rams approach. Build through the draft with the resources from the WD40 trade. But now that you’ve hit on the QB maximize your rookie QB contract window and selectively use picks to get the best vets to win you a Superbowl.

The Rams traded 2nd/3rd round picks to rent Von Miller for half a season. He notched two sacks in a 23-20 Super Bowl win. I’m sure they don’t regret giving up those picks to get a player that helped them win a Super Bowl.

If you think Diggs can have the same effect (I do) then you make the trade.
 
Case Keenum says Stefon Diggs has not lost a step since they were together in Minnesota and Buffalo.

Click to expand...

"Yeah, it's really cool to get back out there and see Stefon on the practice field and to watch him absolutely do some dirty things on some routes that I haven't seen anybody be able to do," Keenum said during his annual youth football camp, via KPRC 2's Aaron Wilson. "He's a dynamic player and he hasn't lost a step. If anything, he has gotten more savviness and can put some extra sauce on some routes when he needs to and win. He's done a great job of continuing to build his craft and work his tools, his tool set, and I'm excited to see what he can do in the fall."
 
beerlover said:
So are we on or off the Diggs train?
Click to expand...


giphy.gif
 
“No matter how much success you have, [you] always try to bring as many people with you,” Diggs said Monday following practice. “And you won’t dim your light at all, shining light on anybody else, especially with these guys. They’re real special.”

texanswire.usatoday.com

Stefon Diggs embracing veteran role in Texans' receiving room

Stefon Diggs still could be an All-Pro receiver with the Texans, but he’s been spending his time passing down the knowledge to others.
texanswire.usatoday.com texanswire.usatoday.com
 
TheRealJoker V2 said:
“No matter how much success you have, [you] always try to bring as many people with you,” Diggs said Monday following practice. “And you won’t dim your light at all, shining light on anybody else, especially with these guys. They’re real special.”

texanswire.usatoday.com

Stefon Diggs embracing veteran role in Texans' receiving room

Stefon Diggs still could be an All-Pro receiver with the Texans, but he’s been spending his time passing down the knowledge to others.
texanswire.usatoday.com texanswire.usatoday.com
Click to expand...
Somebody start preparing the crow for the Diggs' naysayers.
 
www.espn.com

'Maybe we can do this without him': Inside the Bills-Stefon Diggs split

With Diggs set to face his former team this Sunday, a look at what went wrong between the mercurial receiver and the Bills.
www.espn.com www.espn.com




…Where it went wrong between Diggs and the Bills is not a question that yields a single answer from more than a dozen team, front office and industry sources ESPN contacted for this story. The player is famously mercurial. The team's level of patience with his personality ebbed and flowed. The offense was headed in a different direction. The ratio of the impact of these three causes on Diggs' exit depends on who's doing the talking.

And now comes a reunion between Diggs and Buffalo (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS) that will likely be professional on the surface. What lies beneath, only the principals can say. Diggs declined comment for this story, as did the Bills.

But to be sure, this divorce did not come out of nowhere.

"Tremendous player," a team source said. "But the offense didn't need him anymore."

Diggs has been described by several sources as well-liked by teammates, sentiments that were apparent from his early days in Buffalo. Whether organizing a Thanksgiving turkey drive in the Buffalo area or playing catch with fans pregame, Diggs made his presence and example felt within the community and the locker room.

…"He's super smart, and if you sugarcoat it with him and are not 100%, he'll see through it," the source said of Diggs' approach. "And he remembers everything you say."

…A separate team source cited the 2022 postseason departure of the team's receivers coach, Chad Hall, as a point of contention. Diggs is close to Hall, whose contract was up after the 2022 season. Jacksonville offered him a promotion from wide receivers coach to passing game coordinator, which he accepted. The Bills replaced him with veteran coach Adam Henry.

…FROM AFAR, A team in the NFC North had seen this script before.

"It all felt very familiar," a high-ranking Vikings source from the Diggs era said.

Coaches and scouts on the Minnesota staff during Diggs' tenure there often refer to the "Diggs experience," a roller coaster of on-field brilliance and off-field irritability that can elicit discomfort within the football building.

…After Minnesota drafted Diggs out of Maryland in 2015 -- one of the notable fifth-round steals in modern NFL history -- the team learned his competitive side could lead to frustration. The Vikings went to the playoffs three times during Diggs' five years with the team, all under head coach (and noted Diggs fan) Mike Zimmer, and never finished with a losing record. But the very thing that made Diggs great -- his belief that getting him the ball would help the team -- was something Minnesota had to manage both on game day and throughout the week.

"He needs to have someone he can talk to, listening to his concerns, work through what was bothering him, recognizing him as a voice," a Vikings source who directly observed Diggs' tenure there said.

Multiple Vikings sources said that while the franchise considered Diggs' desire to maximize his offensive impact to be mostly a positive, the team had to work to ensure it didn't turn toxic within the building. Vikings brass spent significant time talking through issues with Diggs, realizing he just needed to vent sometimes.

Diggs was known to be forceful when he did. And he shared the wide receiver room with another alpha, Adam Thielen, who also wanted the ball.

To give then-quarterback Kirk Cousins peace on the sideline during games, coaches once situated the Vikings receivers apart from the quarterbacks and closer to the defensive benches, an ex-Vikings source said.

"It can be a lot," the source said. "He might throw his helmet. He will wear on your quarterback. But find me a premier receiver that's not a diva. ... And he works incredibly hard. That's why coaches love him."

After five years that included a pair of 1,000-yard seasons, the Diggs-authored "Minneapolis Miracle" but also $200,000 in fines for unexcused absences from practices and meetings, the team and Diggs decided to part ways in what a Vikings-era source described as a mutual decision between player and team. (A separate team source made clear Diggs wanted out.) Minnesota dealt Diggs as part of a package that sent Buffalo's first-round 2020 choice to the Vikings, a pick the team used to draft Justin Jefferson at 22nd overall.

That source did not recall Buffalo asking for advice on how to manage Diggs' personality in the trade process.

"You always have to worry about how he feels," a Bills team source said. "That wears on a locker room."

…Buffalo had "no intention to ship [Diggs] away" originally, a team source said, but inquiries had been rampant even before the turbulent 2023 season, overtures the Bills rebuffed. Executives from several receiver-needy teams confirmed they did not hear from Buffalo this past offseason shopping Diggs -- the Bills were on the hook for Diggs' contract either way; there was no 2024 cap relief available by dealing him.

While team sources were not able to confirm whether Diggs officially requested a trade, they agree Diggs was open to a change in scenery and an eventual trade was a mutual decision.

"If he's not happy somewhere, he's smart enough to maneuver his way out," a source close to Diggs said.

Added a team source: "It's a normal thing for veteran guys at that stage of his career to be attracted to something new. I think there was some attraction [to Houston] for him."

…The belief in league circles is the Texans were committed to getting an established veteran receiver this offseason. They first tried with Keenan Allen, who was traded from the Los Angeles Chargers to the Chicago Bears on March 14. A source close to Allen said the Texans got "very close" to dealing for the receiver.

Once that fell through, the Texans pivoted to Diggs. Word out of the Bills' locker room started to trickle out in mid-March -- in line with those vague Diggs tweets -- that Houston was a possible destination.

Those who know Texans general manager Nick Caserio were not surprised by this. He scours the market for opportunities, a Texans source said, using personnel meetings to discuss players that could be available due to a litany of factors. "I think [Caserio] saw the writing on the wall [with Diggs in Buffalo]," the source said.

…The trade was announced April 3, with the Bills receiving a 2025 second-round pick in exchange for Diggs, a 2024 sixth-round pick (later dealt to the Lions) and a 2025 fifth-round selection. One AFC executive called Buffalo "lucky" to get that kind of value for a 30-year-old receiver, considering the belief among some in the industry that Houston might have been the lone major player for his services at the stage the deal was made.

Would Buffalo have dealt Diggs if it didn't receive an offer as good as Houston's? One team source was not aware of a hard line on hypothetical trade terms, another said it was the right time to move on and believes the parties probably would have found a way to part amicably -- even if it meant Buffalo shopping Diggs more aggressively. It never came to that.

Diggs called his experience in Houston "a breath of fresh air" when he met the media for the first time as a Texan in June.

"You thrive in a space where you're loved," Diggs said. "Thrive in a space of being around those who truly care and truly want to see you win."

It took Diggs little time to leave behind the career-high seven-game touchdown-less streak he brought with him from Buffalo. He caught two touchdown passes from C.J. Stroud in a Week 1 win over the Colts. Through four weeks, Diggs is No. 3 on ESPN's Receiver Scores list, a composite metric that distills a wide receiver's ability to get open, make catches and accrue yards after the catch. The Texans are making Diggs' place in the offense a priority in a way that wasn't happening in his final days in Buffalo.
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