The breakup between Stefon Diggs and the Buffalo Bills | Sports

IT WAS NEITHER the greatest nor the most memorable play of the Buffalo Bills' 2023 season. Ahead 10-7 late in the second quarter at the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 12, Josh Allen took the third-and-6 shotgun snap from the 13-yard line, glanced left, then to the proper slot, the place he knew precisely which participant he would discover. Stefon Diggs had discovered a tiny void in the Eagles' zone at the objective line, which is the place Allen's essentially low and excellent throw discovered him, sliding in the rain between security Kevin Byard and linebacker Zach Cunningham. Touchdown.

The Bills would blow a double-digit fourth-quarter lead and lose in extra time. And, because it seems, that may be Diggs' thirty seventh and ultimate landing as a Bill. The 30-year-old vast receiver with the NFL's most receptions from 2020 to 2023 would see his alternatives dwindle, at the same time as his crew went on a five-game successful streak that took it from 6-6 after the Eagles loss to the AFC East title. Four months and one week after Diggs slid by the rain in Philly, the Bills traded him to the Houston Texans, taking over $31 million of useless wage cap cash to maneuver him — the highest recognized useless cap cost for a large receiver ever.

Where it went unsuitable between Diggs and the Bills is just not a query that yields a single reply from greater than a dozen crew, entrance workplace and trade sources ESPN contacted for this story. The participant is famously mercurial. The crew's degree of endurance together with his persona ebbed and flowed. The offense was headed in a special route. The ratio of the influence of those three causes on Diggs' exit is determined by who's doing the speaking.

And now comes a reunion between Diggs and Buffalo (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS) that may probably be skilled on the floor. What lies beneath, solely the principals can say. Diggs declined remark for this story, as did the Bills.

But to make certain, this divorce didn't come out of nowhere.

“Tremendous player,” a crew supply stated. “But the offense didn't need him anymore.”

THE 2020 DEAL that despatched Diggs from Minnesota to Buffalo was simply what Allen and the Bills wanted. Multitalented Allen was heading into his third season and coming off a promising playoff yr in 2019 however lacked a real alpha at receiver. Diggs stuffed that vacuum, establishing his place instantly in the Bills' tradition throughout the COVID-altered offseason of 2020 and setting the tone every single day together with his competitiveness and work ethic. If each receiver received one rep, Diggs needed 5. Diggs has been described by a number of sources as popular with teammates, sentiments that have been obvious from his early days in Buffalo. Whether organizing a Thanksgiving turkey drive in the Buffalo space or taking part in catch with followers pregame, Diggs made his presence and instance felt inside the neighborhood and the locker room.

Diggs' arrival immediately correlated with Allen's vault into the top-tier quarterback dialog and the Bills' transition from fringe playoff crew to true contender. Though a few of Allen's beneficial properties will be defined by the pure maturation of a younger quarterback, Allen's improved numbers after Diggs' arrival in Total QBR (from 50 to 71), completion share (56% to 66%) and touchdown-to-interception ratio (from 30 touchdowns, 21 interceptions to 137 touchdowns, 57 interceptions) have been undeniably tied to the duo's compatibility.

For his half, Diggs' star rose instantly with Allen as his quarterback — he was named a first-team All-Pro in 2020.

play

Stephen A.: Wherever Stefon Diggs goes, QBs get higher

Stephen A. Smith cannot wait to see how Stefon Diggs improves C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans.

The two appeared to have buddy-cop movie chemistry early on, sharing secret handshakes and laughs on the subject. Allen went out of his technique to reward Diggs in entrance of each microphone, heralding his No. 1 wideout's influence on the subject and his friendship off it.

“I've been a big believer in off-field relationships paying dividends on the field. I think that ours kind of speaks volumes,” Allen stated in 2021 about the Diggs relationship. “We get to hang out with each other a lot, and develop those types of bonds and relationships, and it shows up on the field.”

In time, frustration would present up on the subject as properly, tied to the incapacity of the Bills to interrupt by on the greatest stage. Late in an unsightly 27-10 dwelling loss to the Bengals in the 2022 playoffs, Diggs — restricted to 4 catches on the day — might be seen animatedly addressing Allen on the sideline.

Stefon Diggs exchanging some phrases with Josh Allen on the sideline pic.twitter.com/J2heSTBMrc

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) January 22, 2023

He defined himself in a collection of tweets that solely deepened the intrigue:

“Want me to be okay with losing ? Nah … Want me to be okay with our level of play when it's not up to the standard ? Nah … It's easy to criticize my reaction more than the result,” Diggs tweeted.

The controversy ignited anew at the subsequent necessary minicamp when coach Sean McDermott informed reporters he was “very concerned” about Diggs not being current.

The subsequent day, McDermott clarified that he “gave Stef permission to get some space” after a dialog between the coach and star receiver. Diggs returned to follow that day.

Theories about the core challenge abounded at Bills crew headquarters that day. One crew supply believed that Diggs had grown pissed off with the late-season losses and had options about enhancing the general method to successful that went past the specifics of his personal position and that his supply on these ideas might need gone poorly. When requested about that theme, a supply near Diggs stated the receiver “got to the point where he figured, I'm here and they know what I can do, but if we're losing, let me help.”

“He's super smart, and if you sugarcoat it with him and are not 100%, he'll see through it,” the supply stated of Diggs' method. “And he remembers everything you say.”

play

Why Stefon Diggs to the Texans ticks Pat McAfee off

Pat McAfee explains his unhappiness about the Houston Texans buying and selling for Stefon Diggs.

A separate crew supply cited the 2022 postseason departure of the crew's receivers coach, Chad Hall, as a degree of rivalry. Diggs is near Hall, whose contract was up after the 2022 season. Jacksonville supplied him a promotion from vast receivers coach to passing recreation coordinator, which he accepted. The Bills changed him with veteran coach Adam Henry.

Regardless of Diggs' intentions or the crew's dealing with of them, what a crew supply stated felt like unstated pressure between the two sides for some time had gone public.

The challenge appeared to chill down after that, as Diggs remained the focus of the offense, with 73 catches by the first 10 video games of the 2023 season. But Buffalo misplaced 5 of these video games, and a 24-22 upset at the palms of Russell Wilson and the Broncos turned up the warmth round the entire crew.

Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs, Diggs' youthful brother, tweeted “Man 14 Gotta get up outta there,” throughout the Monday night time loss, a remark Stefon tried to separate himself from later that week (saying, “I'm not responsible for how other people feel”). By then, McDermott had fired offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey and promoted quarterbacks coach Joe Brady to the interim OC position.

Brady instantly broke from Dorsey's system that had rushed about 25 occasions per recreation the earlier season. Brady as a substitute known as 155 dashing performs in the first 4 video games (38.8 per recreation), culminating in a blowout of the Cowboys through which the Bills ran 49 occasions. It was the crew's most operating performs in a recreation since 2017.

More importantly, it confirmed that an offense so reliant on Allen to run and throw — usually to Diggs when he put it in the air — might adapt. Diggs' 4 catches for 48 yards on 5 targets towards Dallas might need appeared like a minimal contribution inside the field rating, however what the tally stated held significance past the numbers.

“For a while it was, ‘No way we can play without this dude,'” a crew supply who was on the scene that night time stated about Diggs. “But I thought to myself, ‘Oh, maybe we can do this without him.'”

Diggs remained a major possibility, however his targets dipped from 102 over the first 10 video games (10.2 per recreation) to 75 over the ultimate 9 (8.3 per recreation).

Team sources say the run-oriented assault wasn't about Diggs however extra about maximizing the general personnel, involving a number of pass-catching choices and setting extra of a bodily tone. But it signified a web page flip in philosophy and choice.

play

Texans GM tells McAfee how they landed Stefon Diggs

Texans GM Nick Caserio says communication was key in bringing star WR Stefon Diggs to Houston.

“We still attempted to try to get him the ball,” a Bills personnel supply stated. “It's more about philosophy, [Brady and McDermott's] brand, what's most effective holistically for the offense. Teams know where you're going in terms of go-to guys. You have to spread that thing out, have flexibility.”

Meanwhile, Diggs wasn't saying a lot publicly — he was not often accessible to the media in any respect — even when his frustration was privately mounting. The public story was about defenses doing extra to take Diggs away than they'd at any earlier level in his Buffalo tenure.

“I'm gonna be honest, it's frustrating,” Diggs stated earlier than the win over the Cowboys. “I got to do a lot of things to get open, and then a lot of things got to go right for me to get the ball. Y'all know how much of a competitor I am, and I like to play at a high level, and I always want it to happen, and even if it doesn't, when it doesn't materialize, I definitely get a little discouraged at a moment, but then I got to shake back, cause I always look at it like, my team still needs me.”

Diggs and Allen remained cordial and skilled by the philosophical shift, crew sources stated.

There wasn't far more Diggs might say inside the constructing, or in his public feedback. The Bills have been successful once more. But his likelihood to change uniforms for the third time in 5 years was looming.

FROM AFAR, A TEAM in the NFC North had seen this script earlier than.

“It all felt very familiar,” a high-ranking Vikings supply from the Diggs period stated.

Coaches and scouts on the Minnesota workers throughout Diggs' tenure there usually discuss with the “Diggs experience,” a curler coaster of on-field brilliance and off-field irritability that may elicit discomfort inside the soccer constructing.

“It can be a lot. He might throw his helmet. He will wear on your quarterback. But find me a premier receiver that's not a diva.”

Ex-Vikings supply on Diggs

After Minnesota drafted Diggs out of Maryland in 2015 — certainly one of the notable fifth-round steals in fashionable NFL historical past — the crew realized his aggressive facet might result in frustration. The Vikings went to the playoffs thrice throughout Diggs' 5 years with the crew, all below head coach (and noted Diggs fan) Mike Zimmer, and by no means completed with a shedding report. But the very factor that made Diggs nice — his perception that getting him the ball would assist the crew — was one thing Minnesota needed to handle on recreation day and all through the week.

“He needs to have someone he can talk to, listening to his concerns, work through what was bothering him, recognizing him as a voice,” a Vikings supply who immediately noticed Diggs' tenure there stated.

Multiple Vikings sources stated that though the franchise thought of Diggs' want to maximise his offensive influence to be largely a optimistic, the crew needed to work to make sure it did not flip poisonous inside the constructing. Vikings brass spent important time speaking by points with Diggs, realizing he simply wanted to vent generally.

Diggs was recognized to be forceful when he did. And he shared the vast receivers room with one other alpha, Adam Thielen, who additionally needed the ball.

To give then-quarterback Kirk Cousins peace on the sideline throughout video games, coaches as soon as located the Vikings receivers other than the quarterbacks and nearer to the defensive benches, an ex-Vikings supply stated.

“It can be a lot,” the supply stated. “He might throw his helmet. He will wear on your quarterback. But find me a premier receiver that's not a diva. … And he works incredibly hard. That's why coaches love him.”

After 5 years that included a pair of 1,000-yard seasons and the Diggs-authored “Minneapolis Miracle” but in addition $200,000 in fines for unexcused absences from practices and conferences, the crew and Diggs determined to half methods in what a Vikings-era supply described as a mutual resolution between participant and crew. (A separate crew supply made it clear that Diggs needed out.) Minnesota dealt Diggs as a part of a bundle that despatched Buffalo's first-round 2020 option to the Vikings, a decide the crew used to draft Justin Jefferson at twenty second general.

That supply didn't recall Buffalo asking for recommendation on easy methods to handle Diggs' persona in the commerce course of.

“You always have to worry about how he feels,” a Bills crew supply stated. “That wears on a locker room.”

In 2023, 4 seasons since the commerce from Minnesota to the Bills, the each day realities of Diggs weren't confined to the soccer facet of the constructing in Buffalo. The Bills handled a minor public relations disaster in September 2023 when a crew worker who works as a reporter for the Bills' web site was heard on a livestream saying, “There's no control over Stefon Diggs. Dude's gonna do what he wants to do. He'll look in my face and say f— you. … That's how he treats everybody.”

The worker later apologized, and Diggs reacted to the controversy by tweeting: “The media or fans may confuse my competitiveness that they witness on the field as who I am as a person. But off the field I'd never treat anyone how she described & have never said anything remotely close to that to her.”

The controversy abated, and the season continued. More than a yr later, the crew worker stays a reporter for the Bills' web site. The group would come to a special resolution about Diggs.

play

Texans conform to void ultimate 3 years of Stefon Diggs' contract

Adam Schefter particulars the Texans agreeing to void the ultimate three years of Stefon Diggs' contract, permitting him to turn out to be a free agent after the 2024 season.

AS HE FIELDED questions at his season-ending information convention, Bills normal supervisor Brandon Beane was requested about Diggs' manufacturing down the stretch, together with a three-catch, 21-yard efficiency in a divisional spherical playoff loss at the Chiefs.

“Stef's … a No. 1 receiver. I firmly believe that, not wavering off of that,” Beane stated. Left unstated in that analysis was how prominently Diggs factored into the Bills' plans.

Things have been altering in Buffalo. Young offensive playmakers, together with tight finish Dalton Kincaid and operating again James Cook, have been rising in stature. The Bills confronted roughly a $50 million wage cap deficit, forcing onerous roster choices. Word unfold amongst participant brokers that Buffalo can be parting with high-priced, getting old veterans, partially to brace for ballooning cap hits on Allen's $258 million contract. Center Mitch Morse, nook Tre'Davious White and security Jordan Poyer have been launched earlier than free company. Longtime security Micah Hyde, who was considering retirement, was non-tendered.

Buffalo had “no intention to ship [Diggs] away” initially, a crew supply stated, however inquiries had been rampant even earlier than the turbulent 2023 season, overtures the Bills rebuffed. Executives from a number of receiver-needy groups confirmed they didn't hear from Buffalo this previous offseason providing up Diggs — the Bills have been on the hook for Diggs' contract both approach; there was no 2024 cap aid accessible by dealing him.

While crew sources weren't capable of affirm whether or not Diggs formally requested a commerce, they agree that Diggs was open to a change in surroundings and that an eventual commerce was a mutual resolution.

“If he's not happy somewhere, he's smart enough to maneuver his way out,” a supply near Diggs stated.

Added a crew supply: “It's a normal thing for veteran guys at that stage of his career to be attracted to something new. I think there was some attraction [to Houston] for him.”

At the Pro Bowl Games in February, Diggs acknowledged that “there's a lot of changes going on” in Buffalo and stated, “I can't tell you what the future holds, but I'm still being me.”

play

Riddick: Texans close to prime of AFC after Diggs commerce

Louis Riddick reacts to the Houston Texans buying and selling for vast receiver Stefon Diggs.

Then got here the cryptic tweets.

“Ready for watever” on March 15; “Well….” a day later; “Being diligent” on March 25.

Whether motivational fodder or coded commerce speak, these messages felt eerily much like his social media habits earlier than he was traded from Minnesota.

The perception in league circles is the Texans have been dedicated to getting a longtime veteran receiver this offseason. They first tried with Keenan Allen, who was traded from the Los Angeles Chargers to the Chicago Bears on March 14. A supply near Allen stated the Texans received “very close” to dealing for the receiver.

Once that fell by, the Texans pivoted to Diggs. Word out of the Bills' locker room began to trickle out in mid-March — consistent with these obscure Diggs tweets — that Houston was a doable vacation spot.

Those who know Houston normal supervisor Nick Caserio weren't stunned by this. He scours the marketplace for alternatives, a Texans supply stated, utilizing personnel conferences to debate gamers who might be accessible attributable to a litany of things. “I think [Caserio] saw the writing on the wall [with Diggs in Buffalo],” the supply stated.

play

Did Josh Allen take a shot at Stefon Diggs?

“First Take” discusses Josh Allen's postgame feedback and whether or not they have been directed at former teammate Stefon Diggs.

The Bills had a number of elements to navigate. They needed to negotiate parameters of the deal. Houston and Diggs would additionally have to renegotiate his contract, wiping out the ultimate three years to make him a 2025 free agent. Buffalo would wish to grant permission for Diggs' camp and the Texans to speak earlier than a commerce commenced.

And a choice of this magnitude probably concerned Josh Allen, no less than not directly. While the crew's precise communication with Allen about Diggs' future with the crew is unknown, one crew supply believes “[Allen is] at the point that they aren't going to make any important moves like that without letting him know.”

The commerce was introduced April 3, with the Bills receiving a 2025 second-round decide in alternate for Diggs, a 2024 sixth-round decide (later dealt to the Lions) and a 2025 fifth-round choice. One AFC govt known as Buffalo “lucky” to get that type of worth for a 30-year-old receiver, contemplating the perception amongst some in the trade that Houston might need been the lone main participant for his companies at the stage the deal was made.

Would Buffalo have dealt Diggs if it did not obtain a proposal pretty much as good as Houston's? One crew supply was not conscious of a tough line on hypothetical commerce phrases; one other stated it was the proper time to maneuver on and believes the events most likely would have discovered a technique to half amicably — even when it meant Buffalo buying Diggs' companies extra aggressively. It by no means got here to that.

Diggs known as his expertise in Houston “a breath of fresh air” when he met the media for the first time as a Texan in June.

“You thrive in a space where you're loved,” Diggs stated. “Thrive in a space of being around those who truly care and truly want to see you win.”

It took Diggs little time to go away behind the career-high seven-game touchdown-less streak he introduced with him from Buffalo. He caught two landing passes from C.J. Stroud in a Week 1 win over the Colts. Through 4 weeks, Diggs is No. 3 on ESPN's Receiver Scores checklist, a composite metric that distills a large receiver's capability to get open, make catches and accrue yards after the catch. The Texans are making Diggs' place in the offense a precedence in a approach that wasn't occurring in his ultimate days in Buffalo.

Meanwhile, there's Josh Allen.

One day earlier than he was traded in April, Diggs posed a pointed query to a social media consumer who expressed the opinion that Diggs was not important to Allen's success.

“You sure?” Diggs fired again.

Through 4 weeks, it seems the consumer was on to one thing. The Bills are 3-1, and Allen is an early MVP candidate who leads the league in QBR by his first 4 video games of the post-Diggs period.

And now comes Sunday's reunion, which has been preceded by only a contact of the drama emblematic of the Diggs-Bills relationship.

Allen made headlines after Buffalo's 47-10 Week 3 win over the Jaguars when he stated, “That's the beauty of it when guys get to buy into this and really understand like I may not get the ball four or five times thrown to me a game but the one or two times I do, I'm going to have opportunities to be in the end zone. It's a fun and wonderful thing when you got a bunch of guys that don't care about the stats, they don't care about the touchdowns.”

Allen later clarified that “I'm not trying to tear down anybody” and referenced Diggs particularly when he stated, “I love 14, I still do. But everyone wants to keep making this thing [the split] a thing. We're so focused on what's going on inside of our building and that's the only thing we're caring about right now.”

The many league observers who've had this recreation circled since the NFL schedule launch will perceive if that focus is diverted this Sunday.

After the Cowboys' Week 4 win over the Giants, Trevon Diggs was sporting outsized black shades to battle the vibrant digicam lights by his locker. Reporters have been fixated on his perspective after the Cowboys cornerback helped Dallas knock off the New York Giants.

Once the cameras shut off, a reporter reminded Diggs that Stefon's Texans host the Bills in Week 5.

“When is that game? Is it prime time?” requested Diggs, as if doing the math in his head to find out whether or not he wanted to set the DVR.

Actually, the Cowboys face the Steelers in Pittsburgh in prime time, whereas Buffalo and Houston kick off at 1 p.m. ET. Trevon ought to have the ability to watch.

Many are excited for that matchup, the reporter informed him. Stefon's youthful brother arched an eyebrow and gave a figuring out smile as he headed for the crew bus.

“Me too,” Trevon stated.