Orchard Park, N.Y. (WGR 550) - The Buffalo Bills are trading their No. 1 wideout after four seasons spent in Western New York.
The Bills announced on Wednesday they have agreed to trade wide receiver Stefon Diggs, along with a 2025 fifth-round pick and 2024 sixth-round pick, to the Houston Texans in exchange for a 2025 second-round pick, originally from the Minnesota Vikings. ESPN's Adam Schefter was the first to report this deal.
Diggs was originally acquired by the Bills in the 2020 offseason after spending the first five years of his career with the Vikings. Minnesota acquired a first-round pick in return for Diggs, which they used to draft wide receiver Justin Jefferson.
In his four seasons with the Bills, Diggs caught 445 passes on 644 targets (69.1% catch rate) for 5,372 yards, and 37 touchdowns. He also averaged 12.1 yards per-reception, was named to four Pro Bowls, and was named an AP First-Team All-Pro in 2020 and AP Second-Team All-Pro in 2022.
In nine playoff games with the Bills, Diggs caught 47 passes for 600 yards and a pair of scores.
Diggs' best season in Orchard Park came in his first season with the team, where he led the NFL with 127 receptions and 1,535 receiving yards. He also accounted for eight touchdown receptions while becoming Josh Allen's favorite target in the Buffalo offense.
This past season saw a drop in production from the former fifth-round pick 146th overall) of the Vikings in the 2015 NFL Draft. In his 17 games played, Diggs caught 107 passes for 1,183 yards and eight touchdowns, but from Week 10 of the 2023 season on, he topped 50 yards only once, scored only one touchdown, and caught more than five passes only twice.
In the 2023 playoffs, Diggs was almost a nonfactor for the Bills with just 10 catches for 73 yards.
It is expected for the Bills to carry a touch more that $31 million in dead salary cap money on the books for the 2024 season.
Since 2020, Diggs has the fourth-most receiving yards of any wide receiver in the NFL, only behind Tyreek Hill, Justin Jefferson and Davante Adams. His 37 touchdowns are also fourth in the NFL since his acquisition by the Bills, while his 445 receptions tops all wideouts in that timeframe.
The Bills will now look to add a No. 1 wide receiver, at some point, this offseason, especially after wide receiver Gabe Davis also left the franchise this offseason as a free agent to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The wide receivers room in Buffalo currently has a total of eight players under contract for the 2024 season:
- Curtis Samuel
- Khalil Shakir
- Mack Hollins
- Justin Shorter
- K.J. Hamler
- Andy Isabella
- Bryan Thompson
- Tyrell Shavers
Buffalo currently holds the 28th overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft, which has been highly touted as a deep class of wide receivers.
As for Diggs, he now joins a loaded wide receivers room in Houston with the likes of Tank Dell, Nico Collins, Robert Woods, Noah Brown, John Metchie III and others.
