The Houston Texans went from too may wide receivers to not enough in one season, as the impending free agency of veteran Stefon Diggs and the severe injury sustained by Tank Dell took some huge bites out of their overall depth. Luckily, Nick Caserio moved quickly to find a replacement.
The Texans acquired Christian Kirk, who was set to be released by the Jacksonville Jaguars, for a 2026 seventh-round pick. Kirk still has one year left on his four-year, $72 million deal he signed with Jacksonville a few seasons ago, meaning the Texans will take on the remaining $16.5 million in the contract.
With Kirk in the fold, the Texans don't have that much money freed up to chase offensive free agents. Diggs returning to the Texans was already a 50/50 proposition, but this move may have been the catalyst for the pendulum flipping hard in the other direction.
Houston now has a solid veteran option they can lean on without having to devote a ton of money to a player who will turn 32 years old and is coming off a very serious lower leg injury. Diggs' time in Houston could be coming to a close.
Texans may not retain Stefon Diggs after Christian Kirk trade
ESPN's DJ Bien-Aime had reported in the past that the Texans would look to sign Diggs to a "team-friendly" deal. With Kirk in town and the free agent market looking quite thin for wide receivers, Houston may not be able to bring Diggs back with the contract he is seeking.
Diggs only played eight games for the Texans. However, if you extrapolate his numbers out to a full season, Diggs would have tallied 100 catches for 1,054 yards and six touchdowns. Those numbers came while constantly fighting with Nico Collins for targets from CJ Stroud.
The Texans will likely go into the 2025 season with Collins as the top option, Kirk as the deputy No. 2 option, and two youngsters in Xavier Hutchinson and John Metchie fighting for the WR3 role. This youth movement at wide receiver could be bad news for Diggs and fellow veteran Robert Woods.
Diggs could have been the key to a deep playoff run in Houston, but the injury and Houston's speed with which they found another veteran wide receiver does not bode well for him if he wants to stick around. Let's just hope Diggs rented and didn't buy last season.