Former Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs signed a one-year deal worth up to $12 million with the Commanders on Wednesday, but Washington wasn’t the only team that had interest in him.
ESPN’s NFL insider Adam Schefter appeared on the “Pat McAfee Show” on Thursday and stated the Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins and Las Vegas Raiders all had interest in Diggs.
“The Chiefs reached out at one point,” Schefter said. The Dolphins reached out; the Raiders reached out. He had some conversations with teams, and I think it was going to be Washington all along for Stefon Diggs. It just made too much sense.”
Diggs is from Gaithersburg, Maryland, and also played college football at Maryland, and heading back to the area seemed like what he wanted to do this offseason.
Diggs Heading to the Chiefs Would’ve Hurt Some Bills Fans
If Diggs had ended up with Kansas City, it would have felt like a slap in the face to Bills fans, since the Chiefs have been the team stopping them from reaching the Super Bowl over the last six seasons.
The Bills traded for Diggs in the spring of 2020, and he helped lead Buffalo to four consecutive playoff appearances during his time with the team. In his first year with the Bills, they lost to the Chiefs in the AFC title game. The following season, Buffalo faced the Chiefs again, but this time in the Divisional Round, where they were eliminated once more.
Buffalo didn’t face the Chiefs in the 2022 postseason after falling to the Cincinnati Bengals in the Divisional Round, and in Diggs’ last season with the Bills, they fell again to the Chiefs in the Divisional Round.
The Bills traded Diggs to the Houston Texans during the 2024 offseason. Even without Diggs on the roster, the Chiefs beat Buffalo in the playoffs.
Buffalo can’t find a way to get past Kansas City in January, and if Diggs had signed there, it would have felt like a player who left a team he can’t beat to join them for a chance to win.
Diggs Could’ve Returned to the Bills
There was some speculation that Diggs could return to the Bills this offseason, and head coach Joe Brady didn’t rule it out when Kay Adams asked him on Saturday.
“I don’t know anything about him returning,” Brady said when asked if Diggs could return to the Bills. I know [Brandon] Beane always has the mindset that we are always out there roaming. I love the way our receiver room is rolling right now and the confidence they are playing with and the connection they are rolling with.”
Obviously, the Bills didn’t have any interest in bringing Diggs back, as they weren’t even one of the teams Schefter mentioned.
Brady seems pretty happy with the current receiving room at the moment, and Buffalo already made a big-time veteran receiver addition this offseason when it traded for wide receiver DJ Moore from the Chicago Bears.
The Bills traded a 2026 second-round pick for Moore, which means they have big plans for Moore this season, and signing Diggs could’ve disrupted that.
Bills’ Big-Time AFC Rival Pursued Stefon Diggs Before Signing With Commanders: Report