ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills are trading their top receiving threat, Stefon Diggs, to the Houston Texans in a deal that was agreed to Wednesday, a person with knowledge of the discussions told The Associated Press.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the trade has not been announced. ESPN.com first reported the deal.
As part of the deal, the source said, the Bills will receive the Texans’ second-round pick in the 2025 draft, which Houston acquired in a trade with the Minnesota Vikings. The Texans also will acquire the Bills’ sixth-round pick this year and a fifth-rounder in 2025, the person said.
Diggs’ departure from Buffalo leaves quarterback Josh Allen without his favorite target and breaks up a tandem that has rewritten the team’s passing records since Diggs’ arrival in a trade with the Vikings in March 2020. Together they transformed the Bills offense into one of the NFL’s most potent while helping Buffalo win four straight AFC East titles.
Diggs gives the Texans offense another playmaker to team with Nico Collins and Tank Dell. Collins led the team with 80 receptions for 1,297 yards and eight touchdowns last season, when the Texans went from worst to first in the AFC South under first-year coach DeMeco Ryans and AP Offensive Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud.
The Texans also traded for running back Joe Mixon along with a host of improvements on defense. After the Diggs deal, they were 15-1 to win the Super Bowl next season on FanDuel Sportsbook.
The 30-year-old Diggs has nine years of NFL experience and topped 1,000 yards in each of the last six seasons. In his first season in Buffalo, he became the first Bills player to lead the league in both receiving yards (1,535) and catches (127).
Diggs’ production began slipping in the second half of last season, which coincided with the Bills firing offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey and promoting Joe Brady, who placed a renewed emphasis on the running attack. Diggs finished the season with 107 catches and 1,183 yards — both lows during his tenure with the Bills — and eight touchdowns.
He finished his time in Buffalo with 445 catches for 5,372 yards and 37 touchdowns to rank fourth on the team’s all-time list. Diggs holds the top four spots on the franchise list for single-season receptions and the top two for receiving yards.
Overall he has 1,178 catches for 9,995 yards and 67 touchdowns since the Vikings selected him in the fifth round of the 2015 draft out of Maryland.
Diggs, however, also carried over his mercurial personality that led the Vikings to trade him to Buffalo. Though voted a Bills team captain in each of the last two seasons, Diggs caused occasional stirs with several sideline outbursts and the frustration he showed after the Bills’ 2022 season ended with a 27-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in the divisional playoff round.
Diggs left the locker room before coach Sean McDermott had a chance to address the team and had to be coaxed back by teammate Duke Williams. Diggs then spent the offseason posting cryptic messages on his social media accounts while declining to take part in the Bills’ voluntary offseason programs.
Confusion then arose when Diggs wasn’t present for the Bills’ first mandatory practice and McDermott said he was “concerned” about Diggs’ absence.
A day later, McDermott corrected himself by saying Diggs was excused from practice but was present at the facility to discuss lingering issues that stemmed from the previous season.
The dustups led to Diggs having to reiterate several times his loyalty to the Bills, including saying he wanted to finish his career in Buffalo.
“I take my job seriously. You can see how I play. You can see how I practice,” Diggs said in November. “They’ve never questioned me as a player and as a man of what I bring to the table. So me being fully invested has never really been in question.”
Diggs has four seasons left on his contract as part of a four-year, $96 million extension he signed in August 2022.
Though trading Diggs won’t provide the Bills much salary-cap relief, his departure continues an offseason overhaul of the roster that was forced by the team having to slash payroll for cap reasons. Among the players cut were center Mitch Morse, cornerback Tre’Davious White and safety Jordan Poyer. The Bills also lost No. 2 receiver Gabriel Davis to free agency.
They do return second-year wide receiver Khalil Shakir, who is coming off a promising season in which he started 10 games. The Bills also signed wide receivers Curtis Samuel and Mack Hollins in free agency.
Minus Diggs, the Bills are now expected to target a receiver high in this month’s draft. They have the 28th pick in the first round.
