Stephen A. Smith Took Perfect Shot at Dallas Cowboys After Texans Reportedly Trade for Stefon Diggs

Kristen Wong | Apr 3, 2024

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Somehow, some way, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith made the Stefon Diggs trade about the Dallas Cowboys.

The Buffalo Bills trading Diggs to the Houston Texans caused a few innocent bystanders to catch strays, such as Jacksonville Jaguars wideout Christian Kirk, who received heat for what some believe was an overpaid contract in retrospect.

But it was America’s favorite team who took the worst blow from one of NFL media’s most infamous Cowboys antagonists, Stephen A. Smith. Shortly after news of Diggs’s trade broke, Smith pivoted on First Take and launched into a scathing tirade against, arguably, the second-best team in the state of Texas.

“The big headline is [the Texans] are probably the best team in Texas,” Smith said on Wednesday. “All the Houston Texans are doing is saying, ‘Howdy! We’re here. And our focus is on the right things.’”

Of course Stephen A. Smith found a way to make the Stefon Diggs trade about the Dallas Cowboys.

"The big headline is [the Texans] are probably the best team in Texas." pic.twitter.com/ah2nzthi8f

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 3, 2024

“I don’t know what’s on the schedule, but I’m hoping it’s Houston against Dallas,” continued Smith. “So what’s going to happen with the Dallas Cowboys, they’re going to sit up there and they’re going to monitor this situation. It’s one thing for you to not win a Super Bowl, that’s bad enough. It’s one thing for you to not make an NFC championship in 29 years, that’s even worse. But it’s another thing entirely when you ain’t even the best team in Texas.”

Those eagerly hoping for an intrastate showdown between the Texans and Cowboys, both of whom won their respective divisions last season, will have to wait for the 2024-25 NFL schedule release in May.

Smith noted that the Texans may currently hold the upper hand as they boast a young and talented roster, a proven head coach, and a decent amount of cap space—roughly $11 million after the Diggs trade but before Diggs’s expected contract restructure. With star quarterback C.J. Stroud playing on a team-friendly rookie deal, Houston has loaded up on weapons for the last two offseasons, acquiring the likes of ex-Cowboy Dalton Schultz, Joe Mixon and Diggs to widen the team’s Super Bowl window for the next few years.

Meanwhile, over in Dallas, the Cowboys are coming off yet another unimpressive postseason and still have to pay several top-of-the-market players including Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons. 

Much to Smith’s glee, the Texans just might borrow an oft-repeated slogan from their intrastate rivals: This year is our year.