Former Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs had been off to a strong start with the Houston Texans, but now there are growing fears that his season may be cut short by injury.
Diggs was hurt in the team’s 23-20 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, going down with a non-contact injury while running a route in the second half. Diggs was taken out of the game and did not return.
Appearing on the “Pat McAfee Show” on Monday, ESPN insider Adam Schefter said he sees some “troubling signs” for the All-Pro wide receiver as his prognosis remains unclear.
Here is the non-contact knee injury suffered by Stefon Diggs
Worries Grow for Stefon Diggs
Schefter pointed out that there was no clear update on Diggs’ injury by Monday afternoon, saying the relative silence from the team could spell trouble for the wide receiver.
“Everybody is hoping for the best with Stefon Diggs but I think there are some troubling signs here,” Schefter said. “The fact that it was a non-contact injury, the fact that people have been non-responsive in terms of questions about his status.”
Schefter added that it’s common for teams to update members of the media when players are hurt and the injury is not serious, even before any official statements are made. The ESPN insider said he has heard nothing from the Texans, raising fears that Diggs may have suffered a serious injury.
The injury to Diggs could be complicated by Houston’s schedule, facing a short week before taking on the New York Jets on Thursday night.
The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said Diggs was not expected to play on Thursday, and his long-term status remains unknown. The team’s estimated practice report listed Diggs as a non-participant.
Rapoport said the team was still evaluating the injury. Like Schefter, Rapoport said he has not heard any assurances from the team that Diggs will be all right.
“It doesn’t sound very good for Stefon Diggs,” Rapoport said.
Fresh Start for Stefon Diggs
Diggs was sent to Houston in an offseason trade, part of an overhaul in Buffalo as the Bills shed salary cap and parted ways with a number of veteran players. He had been off to a strong start, making 47 catches for 496 yards with three touchdowns.
Diggs was coming off a turbulent season in Buffalo, where he started strong but ended in a slump that included going the final seven games without a receiving touchdown. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported earlier this month that the team began to envision a future without Diggs as the team excelled despite his diminished role in the final stretch of the season. The Bills won the final six games of the season amid the slump for Diggs, including a win over the Dallas Cowboys where Diggs made four catches for 48 yards.
Fowler quoted a source close to the team who said after the Cowboys win, the Bills began to realize they might not need Diggs as the centerpiece for their offense anymore.
“For a while it was, ‘No way we can play without this dude,'” the unnamed source told Fowler. “But I thought to myself, ‘Oh, maybe we can do this without him.’ ”
The Bills revamped their wide receiving corps after the Diggs trade, using their top draft pick on Keon Coleman, adding several veterans, and pulling off a mid-season trade for Pro Bowler Amari Cooper.
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Ex-Bills WR Stefon Diggs Faces ‘Troubling Signs’ After Injury