Who says the NFL offseason hit the pause button? Well, leave it to the Buffalo Bills to shake things up before a matter of weeks before the opening night of the 2024 NFL Draft on Apr. 25.
Wide receiver Stefon Diggs' status with the Bills has seemingly been in flux. Whether it was the cryptic messages on social media or storming out of the team locker room immediately after a home playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Diggs' status with the Bills was up in the air, despite the team's insistence that it was not the case.
Well, that all changed on Wednesday.
According to ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter, the Bills have traded Diggs to the Houston Texans. As for the trade terms, The Athletic's Dianna Russini reports that the Bills are sending a 2025 second-round pick (via the Minnesota Vikings) to the Texans in exchange for Diggs, and a fifth- and sixth-round pick in 2025.
Let's just say that the NFL world was left stunned at the news that the Bills have moved on from their star receiver, and gave C.J. Stroud another receiver to target downfield.
Best memes and tweets after Bills trade Stefon Diggs to Texans
NFL defenses seeing the Texans add Stefon Diggs to an offense with CJ Stroud, Nico Collins and Tank Dell.pic.twitter.com/ZFy47ZEp2Z
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) April 3, 2024
The last two off-seasons for the Texans have completely transformed the franchise.
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) April 3, 2024
DeMeco Ryans, CJ Stroud, Will Anderson, Danielle Hunter, Stefon Diggs, etc.
Houston is a top tier destination.
🤘🏼 https://t.co/bHaiuGCQWF
stefon diggs: “you sure?”
— Ryan Mura (@RyanMura) April 3, 2024
brandon beane the next morning: pic.twitter.com/6qfhFaZDrI
cj stroud and stefon diggs pic.twitter.com/hilG1ti3vs
— Annie Agar (@AnnieAgar) April 3, 2024
CJ Stroud really has a WR trio Stefon Diggs, Nico Collins and Tank Dell.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) April 3, 2024
What a time to be alive in Houston!
Josh Allen when the Bills replace Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis with Michael Thomas and MVS pic.twitter.com/uZg7s1aZTP
— james (@futtywap) April 3, 2024
Josh Allen without Stefon Diggs next season: pic.twitter.com/mW4YiFNbUD
— GoldBoys.com (@GoldBoysSupport) April 3, 2024
Entering this offseason, the Texans held a plethora of cap space, allowing them to fortify the roster around Stroud, who looks like the real deal after his rookie season. The team traded for Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon and gave him a three-year, $27 million contract extension. Then, they added former Minnesota Vikings edge rusher Danielle Hunter on a two-year, $49 million deal.
Now, they are giving Stroud a legitimate WR1 in Diggs.
This past season, Diggs recorded 107 receptions for 1,183 yards and eight touchdowns on 160 targets. Through his four years at Buffalo, Diggs caught 445-of-644 targets for 5,372 yards and 37 touchdowns.
As for the Bills, they will need to address their wide receiver depth in the worst way. Besides trading away Diggs, they watched Gabriel Davis sign a three-year, $39 million contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Leading their receiving depth chart is Curtis Samuel, who they signed to a three-year, $24 million deal. Following Samuel are Khalil Shakir and Mack Hollins. The Bills have the 28th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, which puts them in position to take a wide receiver in what is a deep class.
Without Diggs, the Bills need to do what they must to give quarterback Josh Allen adequate options in the passing game. If not, he will have to do a lot of heavy lifting in 2024.