The Stefon Diggs era is ending in Buffalo.
The Bills are trading the star wide receiver to the Texans for a 2025 second-round pick that originally belonged to the Vikings, according to multiple reports.
Houston is also receiving a 2024 sixth-rounder and 2025 fifth-rounder.
The move comes months after another divisional-round playoff exit for the Bills, with Diggs telling reporters in February that he was taking his NFL future “day by day.”
Diggs, 30, has four years and $75 million ($A114m) left on his contract, according to Spotrac, with $18.5 million ($A28m) guaranteed this year; the Bills get stuck with a $31 million ($A47m) dead-cap charge for 2024.
“I feel like I take it day by day,” he said, according to ESPN.
“Obviously, there’s a lot of changes going on, a lot of things going on. I can’t really put the carriage before the horse, you know what I’m saying? But I got a great offseason in front of me to put a lot of work in and kind of build around what we got and what we’re doing.”
Diggs was initially traded to the Bills in 2020 following a breakup with the Vikings, who selected him in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft.
At the time, Diggs cryptically tweeted, “It’s time for a new beginning,” and was dealt to Buffalo shortly after.
Though Diggs enjoyed success in Buffalo, posting career-highs in receptions (127) and receiving yards (1,535) in his first year with the team, cracks in the union started to show in early 2023, when the Bills were eliminated in the divisional round of the playoffs by the Bengals.
Cameras captured Diggs appearing to have an animated exchange on the sideline with Bills quarterback Josh Allen before the eventual 27-10 loss.
He swiftly left the locker room after, per reports.
The drama continued over the summer when Diggs missed the first day of Buffalo’s mandatory minicamp in June.
Though the wideout returned the following day, the Boston Globe reported Diggs had been unhappy with his “role in the offence.”
Both parties moved beyond the situation as they prepared for the 2023 regular season, which saw Buffalo part ways with offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey in November following a 5-5 start.
The team finished the season at 11-6 and fell short of a Super Bowl berth once again, following a divisional-round heartbreaker to the eventual champion Chiefs in January.
Diggs had 107 receptions last season for 1,183 yards and eight touchdowns.
Diggs took one final shot in a tweet where he replied, “You sure”, to someone who posted “Does Josh benefit from having a top tier receiver, yes. Is he essential to his success, no.”
This article first appeared on The New York Postand was reproduced with permission.
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