Bills GM says trading WR Stefon Diggs was 'best for us now'

Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane has shared more insight on his decision to trade wide receiver Stefon Diggs.

Dec 23, 2023; Inglewood, California, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs (14) gestures after the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Rarely does a news story hit Western New York with the impact of a potent lake effect snow band, but the events of April 3 sure had a similar effect.

After months of speculation and drivel both unfounded and legitimate, the Buffalo Bills traded perennial Pro Bowl wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans, the centerpiece of the return being a second-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. The wideout’s perceived agitation had been oft-discussed, but few around Buffalo genuinely felt as though the team would move on from its fourth-all-time leading receiver; he still projected as a prominent offensive contributor moving forward, and trading him in the 2024 offseason would land the Bills a $31 million dead cap hit for the upcoming campaign. Moving him would prompt a potential personnel and financial nightmare.

And then the nightmare became reality.

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The decision—though initially shocking—was ultimately rational. While a $31 million dead cap hit is a tough immediate pill to stomach, Buffalo skirted the rest of its commitment to Diggs by dealing him now; the seemingly disgruntled pass-catcher was set to earn roughly $25 million over the next three seasons. It also received a premium pick in next year’s draft in exchange for the wideout, something that will allow the team to acquire a potentially elite talent as it resets its roster and enters a new championship window.

Bills general manager Brandon Beane recently spoke about his decision to trade Diggs during an appearance on The Jim Rome Show, stating that the salary cap wiggle room and compensation simply made the proposal too appetizing to ignore.

“You’re always evaluating your team,” Beane said. “[We’re] a team in transition. We came into the year with a tough cap situation, just where we were in the build and obviously some of the acquisitions that we had made. You’re always just trying to look at where you’re heading—where are you at today and where are you heading tomorrow? Houston reached out to us and kept pressing, and we had multiple conversations. We talked about it internally. 

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“Stef’s a heck of a talent, a big part of the success we’ve had. You mention the four divisions that we won in a row—all with Stef. You’re not going to just walk in and replace a guy like Stefon Diggs, and he’ll be a great addition in Houston. As we said, this just was the move that we felt was best for us now. We ate a tough cap pill for this year, but we feel it’s really going to open up our options next year. And again, we added the draft picks this year, and we’ve got some additional draft capital next year knowing that we need to build this team through the draft around Josh Allen.”

With all financial ties to Diggs eliminated after this season, Buffalo will perhaps have the opportunity to further supplement its receiving corps with external reinforcements next offseason. There’s a scenario where doing so may be unnecessary, however, as trading Diggs will allow the team to ascend its younger receivers into more prominent immediate roles; Khalil Shakir and free agent signee Curtis Samuel figure to benefit from the veteran’s departure, as do second-year tight end Dalton Kincaid and rookie Keon Coleman. 160 targets and 1,183 receiving yards have been omitted from Buffalo’s aerial attack with the departure of Diggs—the production is going to have to be made up somewhere.