Well well well. The Houston Texans finally landed their WR. Sources told Adam Schefter this morning the Texans acquired Stefon Diggs from the Buffalo Bills for a 2025 second-round pick. This has been a move in the making for quite some time in Houston after failing to acquire Keenan Allen and the top receivers in free agency. And now CJ Stroud has maybe the best offense in the league around him and a top-tier defense to go along with it. Houston lands Diggs and is still able to keep their draft picks this year, even acquiring a sixth-round pick this year as part of the deal. With that being said, was he the right player to trade for? Let's break it down.
The full trade package, as Dianna Russini reported
- Buffalo acquires a 2025 second-round pick
- Houston acquires Stefon Diggs, a 2024 fifth-round pick, and a 2025 sixth-round pick.
Stefon Diggs is 30 years old coming off of a 1,183-yard, eight-TD season, and is set to make an $18.5M base salary with a $19M cap hit in 2024. Diggs becomes a free agent again in 2028 when he's 35 years old which likely means he doesn't see the end of his contract. The end of Diggs' contract and CJ Stroud's final year of his rookie deal line up so they don't have to worry about fitting both contracts in the salary cap.
The last three seasons he was a non-factor in Buffalo's passing game during the playoffs, in 2021 totaling six receptions for 67 yards in two games, in 2022 totaling 11 receptions for 149 yards in two games, and last season totaling 10 receptions for 73 yards in two games. Diggs is still an elite receiver and will be a big factor in Houston's passing attack. Once the playoffs come around, the Texans will need him to play at a high level and continue his regular season success.
The Texans created some cap space just a few days ago by restructuring the contracts of Shaq Mason and Tytus Howard, which saved $16M in cap space to help facilitate this trade. After this trade, Spotrac has Houston at $14M in available salary cap. They still have enough money to make another move this off-season as they compete for a championship, and there are still quality free agents who, by now, are more willing to accept a smaller deal.
To answer the question, yes he is the right player to trade for. Diggs hasn't shown signs of slowing down at all, and will still be a 1,000-yard receiver in Houston. Teams who are in "win now mode" make these types of moves because they can and their QB contract allows them to go all in. The baggage that Diggs comes with is his ego. In Minnesota and Buffalo, he let his ego get the best of him at times, which led to the end of each tenure. He likely knows this is his last team and he can't mess this one up, and with other good receivers on this team, he won't be a "true" WR1 like before. His ego shouldn't be a factor in this go around, and Houston will be getting a good veteran receiver.