Getty Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs at Hard Rock Stadium on January 07, 2024.
The Buffalo Bills are shipping wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans in a blockbuster trade, and many fans are not happy about the move.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on April 3 that the Bills agreed to send Diggs to Houston along with fifth- and sixth-round picks in 2025 in exchange for a second-round draft pick in 2025. The move came as a shock to many Bills fans and analysts and drew some criticism for what they saw as a paltry return.
Blockbuster: Bills are finalizing a trade to send four-time Pro-Bowl WR Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans for draft-pick compensation, sources tell ESPN.
Bills Fans Sound Off on Stefon Diggs Trade
The trade drew a range of reactions from fans, with many taking aim at the team for unloading their most effective receiver. Diggs was an immediate No. 1 receiver since coming to Buffalo in a 2020 trade, making 445 catches for 5,372 yards with 37 touchdowns in 66 career games for the Bills.
“This is truly unbelievable. I don’t have words,” one fan shared on X.
ESPN radio host Jake Asman wrote that the Bills were “fleeced” on the deal.
“The second round pick the Bills got for Diggs isn’t even in this years draft,” Asman wrote on X. “I’d be furious if I was a Bills fan with that little of a return. Texans GM Nick Caserio fleeced Buffalo.”
Others questioned why the Bills would choose to send Diggs to the Texans, a team on the rise in the AFC with a young quarterback in C.J. Stroud and another standout receiver in Nico Collins.
“You’re trading Diggs to a conference team who is frankly now BETTER than you. What is HAPPENING,” wrote Bills reporter Nate Geary of WGR 550 in Buffalo.
NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein suggested that the move could make the Texans the most dangerous team in the league.
“The combination of Stefon Diggs, Tank Dell, Nico Collins and Dalton Schultz is easily the most explosive and most talented collection of receivers the Texans have ever had by a LONG mile,” Zierlein wrote on X. “If the OL holds up, they should be in serious consideration to become the top offense in FB”
But others chose to remember Diggs for the impact he had in Buffalo, helping vault the team to Super Bowl contention.
Bills Had Made Public Commitment to Stefon Diggs
There had been speculation that Diggs could be on the trade block for months, starting with his outburst on the sidelines during a playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in 2023. The speculation grew more when Diggs struggled down the stretch last season, going seven straight games without a touchdown catch and seeing his production dip significantly.
But the Bills stood by the All-Pro receiver, with general manager Brandon Beane saying after the conclusion of the season that Diggs was still their top receiver.
“Stef’s, he’s a No. 1 receiver. I firmly believe that, not wavering off of that,” Beane said, via ESPN. “… Listen, we have to continue to put weapons out there to keep teams from bracketing him or, you know, locking him down in different ways to take him away. They know you are going to want him. Stef can still play, I’m sure he would love to have that deep ball again, he’d be the first to tell you. He’s super competitive, he’s going to work his tail off this offseason. I know there’s various reasons or questions on this or his production, all that, but I still see Stef as a No. 1 receiver.”