Bills and Texans Are Polar Opposites After Stefon Diggs Trade

Houston is having no problem building a strong football team while the Bills now have a Buffalo-sized hole to fill at wide receiver following the trade of Stefon Diggs to the Texans.

As first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Bills are trading Diggs to the Texans for a 2025 second-round pick, originally from Minnesota. In addition to the four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver, Houston will receive a 2024 sixth-round pick and a 2025 fifth-round pick. By trading Diggs before June 1, the Bills will incur a $31 million dead cap charge in 2024, but that may be worth it as the 30-year-old wideout, who is signed through 2027, has been taking not-so-veiled shots at franchise quarterback Josh Allen for some time now.

Diggs, who played his first five seasons in the NFL with the Vikings before he was traded to Buffalo in 2020, will have a fresh start at a second chance in Houston and the opportunity to elevate second-year quarterback C.J. Stroud the way he originally did with Allen. Though Diggs, who has 810 receptions for 9,995 yards with 67 touchdowns In 136 career games, saw his production dip last year (particularly in the second half of the season and the playoffs), he led the league in catches (127) and yards (1535) in his first season with the Bills.

Missed Wide-Right Kick Leaves Bills Facing Tough Decisions

Buffalo has lost to the Chiefs three times in the last four years

In Houston, Diggs joins reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year Stroud, former Bengals running back Joe Mixon, receivers Robert Woods, John Metchie III, Nico Collins and Tank Dell and tight end Dalton Schultz. The Texans, who were the surprise of the season in 2023-24 and steamrolled the Browns 45-14 in the playoffs before losing to the Ravens and league MVP Lamar Jackson, have been rebuilding their roster following the trade of Deshaun Watson and appear to be so far ahead of schedule — thanks to having Stroud on his rookie contract — that general manager Nick Caserio and head coach DeMeco Ryans feel comfortable making some 49er-ish all-in moves.

As for Buffalo, they are now faced with replacing Diggs as well as last season’s No. 2 wide receiver Gabriel Davis (45 catches, 746 yards and seven touchdowns), who signed with the Jaguars at the start of free agency. On the defensive side of the ball, the Bills need to replace released core players Tre’Davious White and Jordan Poyer along with Leonard Floyd, who signed with San Francisco in free agency.

The Bills will still be considered a contender thanks to Allen being their quarterback and there is probably an argument to be made that moving on from Diggs will end up being addition by subtraction, but his production will have to be replaced via the draft or trade. Luckily for the Bills, the 2024 draft class is supposed to be filled with talent at receiver and Brandon Aiyuk of the Niners and Tee Higgins are both rumored to be on the block.

If the Bills can replace Diggs, they may be back in the hunt. The Texans, surprisingly, are clearly already in it.