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Kyle Brandt perfectly encapsulates Josh Allen-Stefon Diggs divorce

NFL Network analyst Kyle Brandt remembered the good times of Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs' relationship on Good Morning Football.

Anthony Miller

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Every breakup or divorce sparks immediate bitterness, but with time, positive memories will re-emerge. Wide receiver Stefon Diggs’ offseason break up with the Buffalo Bills and, by extension, quarterback Josh Allen was one that was oft-discussed all summer, and the national media is again focusing on it as the Bills prepare to face off against Diggs and his new team, the Houston Texans, in Week 5.

Kyle Brandt had a segment on Friday's edition of Good Morning Football in which he reflected on the relationship, focusing not on the divorce, but on the success the two accomplished through their four years with each other in Orchard Park.

“Two exes will be at the same party this weekend and the kids, as the fans, will have to sit around and watch it," Brandt said. "It’s a little awkward, it’s a little uncomfortable, but it doesn’t have to be evil.”

Brandt shared the story of how their rapport started, with Diggs writing a piece on the Players Tribune in 2020 about being excited to play with Allen after being acquired from the Minnesota Vikings. The feeling was mutual, with Allen, at the time, stating that he was “floating on cloud nine. He’s [Diggs] going to mesh well with our wide receiver group. He’s going to mesh well with our locker room.”

Brandt described Allen and Diggs as one of the best quarterback-wide receiver duos in the NFL throughout their time together, which is statistically true. Diggs had 445 receptions for 5,372 yards and 37 touchdowns in 66 games with Allen throwing him the football.

Fans know the rest of the story, as the wheels eventually fell off the wagon. Buffalo traded Diggs to Houston in April, and the two haven't spoken since.

“Well fast forward three years to this week and he said he hasn’t had any contact with Diggs since the trade,” Brandt said. “The party ended quickly. It ended dramatically. And it ended because Stefon Diggs wanted it to end. He wanted out of Buffalo just like he wanted out of Minnesota. Just like he’ll want out of Houston at some point."

Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs
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There were sound bites throughout Brandt's segment with Allen speaking about how happy he was to now have receivers on the team that don’t care about how many catches or touchdowns they have. There was also a clip of Diggs' current quarterback, Texans' signal-caller C.J. Stroud, speaking about how Diggs was once again "happy" to be playing football.

Brandt again re-focused on the good times between Allen and Diggs, as they resulted in some of the most memorable moments in Bills history. He urged the audience to do the same.

“That’s the tandem I choose to remember, and I think there are better places for Bills fans to put their rancor than Stefon Diggs," Brandt said. "Stefon Diggs was a massive, critical figure in ushering Josh Allen from fellow adolescence to adulthood. And Stef has just moved on. He moved on. He looks great. He seems happy for now. So is Josh. He’s got full custody of the Bills in the divorce and like so many divorce settlements are about the numbers, we’ll look at these numbers.”

Related: Why Bills’ Week 5 clash with Stefon Diggs, Texans is not a revenge game

The program then displayed a graphic showcasing Allen's numbers with Diggs and this season, with the quarterback having a better completion percentage, passing yards per attempt, and passer rating this year than the previous three seasons with Diggs. It’s a reminder that while they were great together, Bills fans don’t need to hate Diggs.

“Josh Allen is not only okay without Diggs, so far, he’s better," Brandt said. "Now there will come a moment when the two of them will bro hug it out in Houston before the game and I for one will be happy about it. I don’t expect Bills fans to root for Diggs for the rest of his career, but why bother rooting against him? He was a great Bill.”

Whether or not fans ultimately choose to root against Diggs in the long term, they almost certainly will this weekend as Buffalo attempts to get back in the win column and best the Texans.

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Anthony Miller
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