Did Nick Cesario make a mistake by not keeping Stefon Diggs?

In the 2024 offseason, the Houston Texans swung a deal with the Buffalo Bills to acquire wide receiver Stefon Diggs, a 2024 sixth-round pick and a 2025 fifth-round pick (2024 picks: RB Jawhar Jordan, G LaDarius Henderson) at the cost of a 2025 second-round pick (used to draft DT T.J. Sanders).

Coming into the transaction, Diggs had just completed a four-year run of 100+ catches and 1,100 or more yards in each season in Western New York (along with four Pro Bowl selections in a row).

Championship aspirations, short term window?

It was a sign that that general manager Nick Caserio was serious about putting the team in position to possibly make a deeper playoff run than the season before (beaten in the 2023 AFC playoffs by the Baltimore Ravens). Giving quarterback C.J. Stroud an effective trio of receivers like Nico Collins, Tank Dell and Diggs even got rave reviews from the national sports media at the time, with declarations being made that Houston had arguably the best receiving core in the NFL.

Then, Caserio made a decision regarding Digg's contract that had some scratching their heads at the time. For, not long after bringing Diggs into the fold, Caserio decided to alter the terms of his pre-existing three-season pact and make it into just a one-year contract.

According to a report by ESPN that year, "As part of their blockbuster trade to acquire wide receiver Stefon Diggs, the Houston Texans wiped out the final three years on his contract, giving him the ability to become a free agent after this season."

Adding further financial context, the report continued with, "The Texans also took the $3.5 million guaranteed to Diggs next season and moved it up into this season, giving him a raise and assuring him of $22.52 million in guaranteed money in 2024."

The move was pitched as a way for Houston to get the "best version" of Diggs, as he could just choose to negotiate a new deal at season's end.

The union worked swimmingly for the Texans through the first eight games, as Diggs totaled 47 catches (no less than four per game), 496 yards, three receiving touchdowns and one rushing score. His production was one of the keys to Houston's 6-2 start that season.

Major injury ends Diggs' tenure

Unfortunately, neither Houston nor Diggs would be able to see the end result of the marriage, as he would tear his ACL in week eight against the Indianapolis Colts. His season was over, and so was his time in Houston.

Thanks to the move to void Diggs' remaining years beforehand, Caserio looked like a genius. Except, fast forward to the week before the Super Bowl in 2026 and Diggs is preparing for the biggest game of his career while the Texans are nursing their wounds at home after losing in the AFC Divisional round (for the seventh time). Caserio's "genius" decision in hindsight now looks like a massive oversight, and fans and media are now reopening discussions about it.

To be fair, Diggs tore his ACL at virtually 31 years old, and that kind of injury normally takes 10.5-12 months to fully recuperate from anyway. Amazingly, Diggs recovered in just nine months and was prepared in time to play on the first year of his three-year, $69 million contract that he signed with the New England Patriots in the 2025 offseason.

Meanwhile, the Texans sent a 2026 seventh-round pick over to the Jacksonville Jaguars for the services of wide receiver Christian Kirk, who was seen by some as a facsimile of Diggs. Head-to-head though, Diggs had the far superior regular season to that of Kirk's.

Hindsight is 20/20

Hindsight is always 20/20 though, and no one could've predicted exactly how thing would immediately pan out post ACL-injury for Diggs. For the Texans, this is just another miss in a season full of them, as injuries and under performances on the offensive side of the ball as a whole doomed their chances to advance to the championship game in Santa Clara.

All we know now is Kirk will potentially be out of the door just like Diggs the season before, leaving another hole to fill in the receiving core. Thankfully, they have a surplus at the position this time, so that's not as much of a priority as in year's past.

The biggest fixes for the team will be more on the offensive line and in the running back room, but that's another story for another day.