The Stefon Diggs era in Buffalo is over. On Wednesday the Bills dealt the four-time Pro Bowl receiver to the Houston Texans, accepting a pittance in return. Now people are left wondering why he was dealt for so little, and we’re beginning to get some answers.
Stefon Diggs ‘wore out’ welcome with Bills before trade, per report
The Bills had their reasons for trading Stefon Diggs.
Photo by Perry Knotts/Getty Images
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
There’s been clear friction between the Bills and Diggs for some time. Trade rumors have been swirling for the better part of a year, with claims that Diggs was rubbing teammates the wrong way, and vice versa. However, things always seemed to get pulled back together in time for the season to begin.
That ended on Wednesday. Now there are reports that there wasn’t one major incident that led to Diggs’ departure, but rather death by a thousand cuts. A relationship slowly frayed after years of nicks that the rope finally broke. Tim Graham of The Athletic alluded to precisely this in a series of tweets.
Graham outlines these events in his story, including this one which occurred in the 2022-23 playoffs.
“For the past couple seasons, there was turbulence. After the Cincinnati Bengals bounced the Bills from the 2022-23 playoffs, an emotional game in which a gesticulating Diggs seemed to wear out Allen and then-quarterbacks coach Joe Brady on the bench, Diggs infamously stormed out of the locker room so fast the pressbox assistant coaches hadn’t gotten inside for McDermott to deliver his postgame speech. Practice squad running back Duke Johnson tracked down Diggs in the Highmark Stadium tunnel and begged him not to leave.”
This is consistent with everything it appeared the Diggs’ relationship had become. While he was a critical player on paper, the Bills couldn’t get over the hump with the Josh Allen/ Stefon Diggs pairing alone. Factor in the routine unhappiness of the receiver, coupled with salary cap savings in 2025 and it made too much sense for the team’s future.
It will be interesting to see how Diggs plays out in Houston. On the one hand he’s a tremendous on-field talent who gives the Texans another major weapon for C.J. Stroud, but on the other they’re potentially introducing drama into their locker room.
The drama is absolutely worth the risk, especially for how little the Texans needed to send to make the deal for Diggs. It also now leaves the Bills in dire need of a new receiver ahead of the NFL Draft.
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