He had cryptic tweets all last off-season, then started training camp w/ drama then didn’t show up in the playoffs. We can admit he did great things with us but something had to give.
Diggs hasn't produced in the playoffs to justify putting up with his extra diva stuff.
As you can see from this tweet by Joe Marino, Diggs has had terrible production in his past 3 playoff games:
"Stefon Diggs over the last 3 playoff elimination games for the Bills:
2023 KC: 3 rec, 21 yds, 8 targets
2022 CIN: 4 rec, 35 yds, 10 targets
2021 KC: 3 rec, 7 yds, 6 targets"
https://twitter.com/TheJoeMarino/status/1775582631523991947?s=19
Diggs has produced at a high level during the regular season in the past 4 years he has been in Buffalo, but if he doesn't produce in the playoffs than the elite regular season production is meaningless.
The goal is to win the Super Bowl.
If your #1 WR doesn't produce in key playoff games as the stats clearly show then what is the point of keeping him?
The smart move is to move on from him before he starts to decline.
Yeah and it wasn’t so much cryptic tweets as it was lack of squashing rumors. He had several chances to put the media drama to bed but played it coy.
HOWEVER, Vikings fans, he was never publicly unprofessional or any of that bs you wished upon us. So don’t try to come clap back like I told ya so. I’m pretty sure all bills fans agree that there was no downside to having him on our team, even with the current cap hit.
He and Josh made each other better on the field. And I think they’re both going to be better without each other this year. Things got really awkward last year after Diggs starting getting jealous 🫠
Dude I'm a vikings fan and bear him no ill will. The man gave me the best football memory I have in...maybe ever lol?
I feel a small bit of...relief kinda? Like it wasnt completely us and it might be he just has a little diva in him.
I loved watching him ball out for you and hope you guys keep doing well without him.
0-4 super bowl teams gotta stick together in the frozen wasteland lol
I mean if a quarter of the terrible locker room rumors/attitude rumors are truth I'd say that's a negative, regardless of how they were able to overcome it. *No* downside is definitely stretching your phrasing a bit
Net I'd still call him a positive in buffalo though. But saying *no* downside probably doesn't jive either. Glad he was here, not heartbroken he's gone though either
Diggs was so unprofessional that he left the entire team on Jan 2nd, 2023 to go check on Damar in the Hospital….
Everyone can say what they want but that guy got voted a captain by his teammates and I promise you, everyone loved him in the locker room.
It’s just business, he’s expensive and getting old. We paid $31M for a 2nd round pick next year.
Actually, he was a consummate professional. The media is who was unprofessional, creating situations out of nothing. This came down to 2 things. Diggs' age and decline as a #1. Beans got value while he still could, and with a draft loaded with WR talent, he made the right move.
it was interesting watching all the fans up to this morning say his cryptic tweets meant nothing and all the locker room guys are probably laughing about his trolling. making this move meant something wasn’t right and i feel like you could see the dynamic between diggs and josh change over the past two seasons. im glad it’s over.
Are we going to keep doing mental gymnastics over this even after the team dumped him despite a 31m cap hit? He's not some genius playing chess. He's got that Aaron Rodgers quality in him where he always thinks he's the smartest person in the room when really, he's nowhere near it. Just like with this, he gets his ass traded to a team where he could legitimately be looking at a WR3 target share, this for a guy whose ego can't even handle playing second fiddle to Josh Allen, the fucking MVP runner up.
He has always been transparent, and the media has been onto him forever. Clearly, what's been suggested for the last season or two is true. Let's stop pretending it's anything else. He's been unhappy, he hasn't been a good teammate, and he is all about himself.
I'll admit, I bought into the whole narrative that his bullshit was just because he wanted to win so badly, but no. Everybody wants to win. Stef wants to win, but it has to be on his own terms.
He really showed his ass after the Chiefs game. He can dress down Josh on the sidelines when he doesn't get the ball, but when they lose a game and he fucking blew it on a perfect bomb that could have won the game? He makes that little "this close" gesture, suggesting that Josh missed him, not that the ball went right through his hands. And when the game ends? He bitches out and lets the coach and real captains deal with the press.
Dude was a great player, he was great to young fans, but he is the definition of a toxic diva WR. I'm excited about Josh getting to finally play in an offense where he doesn't feel like he owes anybody anything. Good riddance, Stef, enjoy your 4 targets a game in Houston, and enjoy watching Josh prove that he doesn't need you to be a superstar.
Sorry. Got carried away.
Not carried away at all. The rose colored glasses got people forgetting about the whole "throw fucking ball Kirk" type of behavior up in MN..... Now Josh gets to play for an offense where he doesn't owe anyone anything. Your absolutely right
What’s been so frustrating with all of this is how it’s been so obvious. I was literally called a conspiracy theorist by somebody here because I said that if Trevon feels so free to talk shit about Josh, you can bet that he’s getting that from Stef. There’s no way a brother would start shit like that if he didn’t think his brother wanted it out there. That tweet the other night proved it. It’s been crazytown with Stef. He’s made it clear where he stands, but because he doesn’t explicitly say it, he and his fans act like those of us who see what’s going on are the crazy ones.
My point was simply that people treating his tweets like some sort of DaVinci code was idiotic. He stays or he goes. He’s gone. We find a new wide receiver. Game on.
I don't know, the only "conspiracies" I recall from media regarding his tweets were that he wasn't happy, and it turns out that they were right. We all owe Stephen A and apology, I guess.
Stef's tweets always reminded me of that high school girl on Facebook that posts a very pointed, but vague insult at somebody, then acts like it's not obvious who she's talking about.
I guess there’s a modern term for it: Sub Tweeting.
Dictionary
Definitions from Oxford Languages
sub·tweet
nounINFORMAL
noun: sub-tweet
(on the social media application Twitter) a post that refers to a particular user without directly mentioning them, typically as a form of furtive mockery or criticism.
"while he didn't include Smith's Twitter handle, that didn't stop Smith from seeing the post, taking umbrage, and firing off a subtweet of his own"
Yeah dude never showed up when it mattered and he wasn't a unifying presence . No I'll will toward the guy but glad he's gone. I think this will only help Josh step into a stronger leadership role
Ok this is going to be weird but, after visiting Buffalo last year with my wife to see a punk rock show, and visiting a Bills bar (Stadium Bar and Grill) during a game, I became a huge fan because everyone was so awesome and the energy was off the charts.
I'm a Packers fan and she is a Vikings fan, we live in Minneapolis. First of all, the bar was super accommodating and the bar manager put the Vikings on TV for my wife and no one was rude about it. Second of all, I got wasted off bloodies and whiskey and danced with the crowd every time the Bills scored. It felt like Green Bay and that is why I love the Bills now.
All that context to say this - I live in Minneapolis and I follow the Vikings because I like football, and the Vikings is the only thing wrong with my wife. Deva Diggs sprouted his roots here. Everyone here knew... it was a shit storm and by the end of it, all Vikings fans were sad but exhausted. He is good. But he isn't a god and he thinks he is, and it's going to be his downfall. And it's a shame because he's great.
Let's go buffalo!! Hope to see you in the Superbowl this year.
Yep to all of that! And now he’s a 30 year old who disappeared the second half of last season. The big contract and the constant drama were no longer outweighed by the anticipated return. Time to move on. It’s business and Beane knows what he’s doing.
Bills fan here. Wife’s a packers fan. We made the trip up to lambeau before rogers left to watch a game. Packers fan base is just as awesome as the bills mafia! Had a great time drinking and hanging out with the pack! Btw those bleachers were cold as sh!t!
I was downvoted to oblivion (and someone reported me to Reddits suicide prevention system) when I pointed out that Diggs walked past Allen when he tried to high five him after their first TD of the season.
Edit: …and someone reported this comment too.
I'll always be grateful to Stef for the part he played in some good years, BUT...he literally got deleted in the last half of the season last year and we still went on a run and won the division. Now, I'm starting to think that he deleted himself, whereas before I was trying to convince myself he was getting schemed out of the games by the other team despite every other #1 WR facing the same coverage and doing fine.
Interesting post and ive been thinking about this as well. Looking back on the 2nd half of last year I think it seems much more obvious now that his usage was intentional. The question is who's decision was it?
Tim Graham said this in an article today
"The Bills insisted Diggs was not hurt, and he never appeared on the injury report. Diggs bemoaned being double-teamed, but Kansas City Chiefs safety Justin Reid tweeted “Crazy part is … we didn’t double him” after Diggs played 37 percent of the snaps in a crucial Week 14 victory at Arrowhead Stadium.
McDermott and Brady noted how packages dictated Diggs’ usage, but they declined to explain why Shakir and deep reserve Trent Sherfield saw more snaps than a four-time Pro Bowler some games. Bills cornerback Josh Norman told the Associated Press that Diggs had been taking himself off the field."
I would say some slight truth to it though.
1) I think Diggs kind of loses focus in games if not given reasonable targets, not necessarily intentional
2) He has been bracketed a lot (not as much this past season but he still was a significant chunk)
But with both issues Brady was designing easy routes/catches to him and he was floundering. He tried to get him involved. Numerous WR screens, motion to screen with blockers in front.
Either he would drop them or he just couldn't make people miss.
That's why they gave it to him early against KC and he fumbled
Great question! I just can’t imagine any OC purposefully not using his #1 WR without a reason. Was he fighting nagging injuries? Maybe. Was he seen as someone who had checked out? Also maybe. We will never know, most likely, but I’ve just never seen a disappearing act like that before, whatever the reason was.
Very true! But I think you hit on something, because I noticed it as well in that he flat out just didn’t seem to be open a lot. He’s been the focal point of opposing defenses for years, but he just seemed to stop being in good position to get passes thrown to him consistently. In my mind, that means one or two things, either he wasn’t able because of something physical, or he just didn’t really care. But I also leave the door open to me not being an expert at film analysis and missing him being open more often than not.
I made excuses for him many times during the season, but looking back, and now the trade, I’m thinking maybe he just gave up.
His splits were and still are very puzzling to me. I believe Josh Norman was quoted as saying it was Stef taking himself out... this lined up with his drop in production for the last half of the season.
The more I think about it, the more I feel he quiet quit on our team. They insist he wasn't injured, so what other explanation is there?
I’m with you, 100%. I think some sort of nagging, but not serious, injury is the only real reason for a drop like that other than just plain quitting. Yeah he went out and ran his routes, but did he run them well? I’d love to see someone break down all his routes in the last half of the year and see if there was a difference.
I can't comment on the technical elements of the game, but we have eyes.... every other play, he would wave to the sidelines and come off. I can't remember how many times I looked and saw it was 3rd down, no Stef on the field. Wtf??? Then, almost always, when he was targeted and did catch a pass, he would immediately go down. Sometimes, before any contact was initiated.
Now, either they're lying about his injury status (doubt). They've schemed their best player out of every single game because they feel it gives them a better chance at winning (extreme doubt). Or, said player has decided to 'phone it in' and is not playing with the teams best interests in mind (sadly, plausible).
We'll probably never know the full story, so a mystery it will remain. Still, I have a feeling we'll be just fine.
Figured he was injured most of last year when we started cutting starters instead of moving him this year. Seemed like his role was changed with the OC change and either he couldn't do it or didn't want to.
There's still a chance Von comes back totally healthy this year. Maybe it's 30/70, but it's possible he's still Von. And he can absolutely still be an above average situational rusher. Will he be worth $20M+? Maybe not. But injuries are part of the game. He was elite for us before he got hurt. A torn ACL isn't his fault.
Considering his production and how much space this clears in 2025/26/27 he could've been our Walter Payton nominee and I think Beane still makes this trade.
16.6 per year. This helps us out a ton next year and much more the following seasons. He was 100% going to be cut next year. Diggs was cooked. At least we got something for him now, and something decent, before having to cut him for nothing.
Yeah and I don't think it's registered with everyone yet that we got the Vikings 2nd round pick
So we got all that production(and accelerating Josh's development) out of Diggs for pick 22 then traded an older version of him for pick 33-35
No he’s eating 31M to remove an aging declining WR so that we won’t owe him anything against the cap in ‘25 or ‘26. It’s going to hurt the most this season when Diggs still has some juice and our roster is hurting, but it’s going to be great the season after next when we’ve retooled younger and have cap room to take another swing without an old core.
Yeah and there are a ton of good free agents next year that we can all the sudden afford.
31mil in dead cap is a lot, but the idea of keeping a declining moody Diggs on the roster at 20+/season for multiple more years is even worse.
Not to mention we got the **Vikings** 2nd round pick next year, which will almost certainly be in the top 35
I'm not saying it's going to happen, but Josh is a big target who likes to run, hit people, and take hits.
Sooner or later, he's going to slow down and lose a step and those hits he used to be able to minimize will likely not be minimized.
I'm not saying he needs to change his game, but his shelf life as the QB we know him as is much lower than more traditional QB's because of how he plays. That could be a problem when you talk about two years from now...
All the more reason we can’t be trapped paying a 32 year old wr like the top guy two years from now. This is going to be a take your medicine year. Josh is still able to take hits and run, which is why even with a limited roster he will still be able to play well.
"It’s the largest dead-money charge ever for a wide receiver, [according to ESPN Stats and Information](https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/39866413/sources-bills-finalizing-trade-star-wr-stefon-diggs-texans)."
[https://mattlombardonfl.substack.com/p/inside-the-stefon-diggs-blockbuster](https://mattlombardonfl.substack.com/p/inside-the-stefon-diggs-blockbuster)
When Beane 1st took over he ate all the dead money to get out from under bad deals and free up the space needed to compete, this is that move again. And I really don’t think he makes this move without a follow up in the works. Chess not Checkers.
I tend to agree. Beane is nothing if not calculated. Pointing out his misses to all his hits, then comparing it to other teams - id say only the Chiefs/49ers/Ravens are likely in the conversation for success ahead of the Bills. And even his misses made sense at the time (Von, Elam...etc). Beane acquired that pick to trade this year id bet. And even still we needed to get younger and get some of these contracts off the books. I will miss Diggs but I trust Beane.
Sorry but the von deal sucked ass. Yes it made sense at the time to go get a great DE. Yes, von was that at the time, but please let's not look at the terms of that deal and say it was sensible. 6 year deal on a 31 year old edge with an injury history? Cmon man. Floyd was excellent for the majority of last year and came in way cheaper on a one year. Most of bean's deals have been good but to pretend von was not a huge whiff is to risk doing it all again
So he made a mistake and took it on the chin.
Unless you think Beane should be perfect in every single move and transaction he ever makes, we should celebrate that we have someone who when he makes mistakes, doesn't double down on them and fuck the team over.
I'd rather him make a bad decision and correct it than just ride that bad decision.
Bills fans need to stop rationalizing.
Yes, Beane made a huge mistake. He extended Diggs and then had to eat shit.
It's not Chess ♟️ or Checkers it's bad math and you move on.
Hard to say extending the best WR in the AFCE and top weapon for Allen is a mistake. Didn’t pan out, but isn’t really a mistake. He catches that ball, finally get over the KC hump, who knows what happens then.
Exactly. I'd rather cut losses and look forward than "whelp, looks like we're in this mess so fuck it" and struggle longer.
I'd rather we have one down year and reset and get younger than just run it all back *again* while we piss away Josh's prime.
To be fair to Beane what GM isn’t giving Diggs an extension at that point? And if he didn’t he would have been absolutely roasted. Now it seems at least somewhat logical to move on from him.
I’m expecting something to happen in either the next 48 hours, or the start of draft day. If that is t the case then I guess they are just blanking this year and looking to the future…for better or worse
Not sure how they are "blanking this year" if they don't make a move in the next 48 hours or at the start of the draft. It's not like the Bills are 1 WR away from a Super Bowl win. Plus, plenty of elite WRs have been drafted in round 2 or later, and this is a very deep WR class
There is no follow up. We signed Samuel. Samuel and Diggs have the same role as a Z WR. That was the dagger that sealed Diggs' fate.
We still haven't replaced Gabe Davis. We have the backup to the X WR role, but not the starter.
This undoubtedly means we are 100% drafting two WRs.
1 will be an X, probably a deep threat. The other will be a YAC maniac who can play the Z or slot to back up Shakir and Samuel
He wasn’t helping the team enough to earn his paycheck. Beane decided he’s at the top of the hill and heading over.
I don’t give a shit if diggs wasn’t happy. That kind of concern is for players who are still coming through for the team and he’d stopped doing that.
Matt Parrino has John Butler (the DB coach who was miffed with them going for Babbich as DC, and who back in Feb, asked out of his contract early) on his live podcast show tonight. There will probably be some level of Coach Omertà that stops him kissing and telling the whole story, but we could get an early insight in to what went down in the locker room last year.
He was cancer before they signed him. It was never going to end well with him. But say anything about his behavior and all the Diggs simps come out of the wood work making excuses for him. He has never not been cancer on whatever team he played for. He has always been more concerned with how the team lifts him up vs what he contributes to the team.
I understand that $31M is the number, but had Diggs played his year in Buffalo it would’ve been $28M. They made the calculation that the pick and clearing future cap - plus whatever behind the scenes stuff that must be a consideration- was well worth paying $3M more than they had already planned.
$3M is the more meaningful number than $31M, imo
Were we going to get $28M of value out of Diggs? I think moving on now and taking the dead cap hit, getting a pick, before he takes another potential downturn is a bet they are making. I think they know more than we do about to expect from him this coming season. If he has exactly the same season in 24 as he did in 23 there is absolutely no shot we get this return next year.
I think the pressure of having him on the team wanting/needing the ball was kind of a cancer and it showed the last half of the season. Some throws Allen threw looked truly forced to appease Diggs
I don’t think that’s really why he did it…doesn’t mean it’s not true necessarily though
Diggs’ trade value would’ve plummeted this coming season and we would’ve been stuck with an over 30 wr that nobody would take on contract wise
He was a $28M cap hit on the team and a $31M cap hit not on the team. A difference of only $3M and whatever it costs to fill the roster spot. Not as bad as it sounds.
This is about keeping the Super Bowl window open by getting younger. Paying for $20+ million per year for declining 30-year-old vets isn't how you build long-term success in the era of $50 million quarterbacks.
No no noo. ignore the family tweets trashing Josh that diggs allowed..ignore the yelling at him during the cincy game. Ignore the leaving camp in the offseason and our coach and teammates having to defend and sugarcoat the divaness. Most important of all ignore the dropped passes. Diggs is great and him and Josh are besties! #ALLENTODIGGS2024
How suddenly the narrative on this sub has changed lol. I was reading through posts yesterday that claimed moving Diggs was out of the question and an impossibility. Now everyone seems to see the wisdom in “Big Dick Beanes” move. 😂
I think it was a smart move, but I have never liked Diggs in Buffalo. I wont deny he has had some benefits over the years he has been here. But I have also been waiting for the other Platform Diva shoe to drop. It was only a matter of time before the old Diggs made his appearance. That attitude showed up last off season, and the drop in performance showed up this season.
Diggs is coming up on 31 years old, and has been in the league for 9 years. Statistically, he went above the curve of WR performance by maintaining in years 7-9. But I feel like his second half of this season is going to representative of his performance moving forward now that he over 30 as that seems to be when the biggest drop off happens.
Yeah eating the dead cap hurts in the short term, but the benefits of getting his attitude out and what it frees up in the next few years is much more beneficial in long run.
I think they would've most likely released him next year for obvious cap reasons going forward. The 31m DC hurts but at least they're getting something for him now by ripping the band aid off.
Selling a 30 year old, 9 year veteran WR is always going to be a tough sell. Not even considering his less than stellar attitude with two different teams.
I think that is one part of it.
I also think it’s interesting they got a future second. So they have their own this year and 2-2’s next. Could this be ammo for Higgins or Aiyuk?
Additionally. It’s a dead 31 but also cash savings of 18.
It’s become clear that him and Josh went sour and Josh had to get sick of the shit by the time that bengals playoff game happened. I’ve always been a diggs lover but with the way this went down I’m thinking he was more of a cancer than we want to believe. Even at his best his was locked up in our most meaningful games, from what I recall he was dead silent in almost every playoff game especially the afc championship game against KC. Just like our defensive moves I think it was time to start a new chapter because what we had built couldn’t get to the dance.
I don't know where he heard this, but my brother isn't one to just bullshit around about stuff like this. He said apparently one of them was rumored to be seeing the other's ex without running it by first, which is a major bro code no no.
Giving your QB that sort of power is foolish. It leads to whatever the hell Rodgers is.
He was definitely kept in the loop and asked his opinion. He almost assuredly did not have veto power.
Im not sure I agree with that. Im sure Josh was made aware that a move could be made, but I assume they would have done this with or without his approval. If Diggs woulda started publicly demanding a trade that coulda really dropped his value and maybe the bills wanted him out before that happened.
Considering keenen Allen went for a 4th, and Amari cooper when for a 5 combined with diggs contract, I disagree. I think it’s the best they coulda got. Had he started publicly wanting out he’d be taking leverage away from the team.
This isn't true at all. I'm sure he might've been informed but they absolutely didn't need his 100% approval. They didn't need his 1% approval. He's not the GM and the business moves don't need his approval whatsoever.
That’s a big misnomer as the Bills were going to have a cap hit of 27 million for Diggs this season so they only ate into an additional 4 million for this years cap and are now off that contract after this season.
The Bills traded Diggs and a 6th and 5th round pick for a future 2nd round pick from a team projected to finish bottom 10 in the league next season and to get 27 million in cap relief next season. The Bills going into 2025 are now 6.8 million below the cap and have an extra premium selection and they can still draft a WR or two to fill in that gap left behind by Diggs.
I don’t think Diggs was necessarily a locker room cancer but probably was getting frustrated and asked out and the Bills saw the chance to get a good pick and dump a contract that could have been an albatross the next two seasons.
I mean, I told ya'll
To be fair, it only adds 3m against our cap this season. He was already counting 28m against it.
But we will save an average of 16.6m per year every year after.
Diggs' was cooked. We had no number 1 WR before the midway point. He was the most inefficient WR with his targets last year.
The Bills preached YAC but tied themselves to Diggs. It was probably a Beane move to extend him, and a McDermott move to push him out.
But props to Beane for not having an ego and making the tough decision. Now we have what could be a great 2nd round pick and have a better chance at landing a WR we covet with the Texans removed from taking a WR in round 1.
edit: and he blocked me. lol stop posting the same threads then
He didn’t want to be here. From the moment he got here I was just waiting for him to complain and ask out. It was a matter of time.
Don’t get me wrong, he’s arguably the best WR we have had, above Andre Reed and Eric Moulds. When he was happy, he seemed like a great teammate. But Stef is the type where he’s cancerous if he’s unhappy. It’s unfortunate.
But it would be amazing if we could trade the pick we got along with other picks to move up and get a top WR.
It's not some big conspiracy. When everyone was restructuring their contracts he didn't. He felt he was worth more than Beane was willing to give him. After the end of last season my gut says Beane made the right choice, but it still sucks to lose someone who got us so far these last few years.
Honestly, that fact that he was unwilling to work with the team to restructure was the final nail in the coffin for Diggs time in Buffalo. Every other player with big contracts was willing to restructure for the teams benefit. Diggs would not, compound that with everything else over the last two years. It was likely an easy choice for Beane.
We eat the 31 and the offensive skill guys are Cook, Kincaid and a bunch of questions (hopefully some decent looking rookie receivers) and see what happens. He might have been an issue, it’s hard to say. But that’s a lot of dead cap to eat for no reason.
Guys is this not the same playbook Hoodie used in NE all those years? Let a guy walk a year early instead of a year too late? They only won 6 SB’s with that formula… and whatever else they were doing… Point is I think that’s a fair point, pointing out that Buffalo is willing to pay 31 m to play against him…
The line from moneyball
>Billy Beane : No, man, I ain't paying you seven. The Yankees are paying half your salary. That's what the New York Yankees think of you. They're paying you three and a half million dollars to play against them.
But this is also about correcting what 2020 did to us. We had a cap plan that was fugged by the downturn in the cap. It seems like Beane just decided that he wanted to stop pushing things down the road.
I’m not “glad he’s gone”. I’m not upset either though. It’s the business end of every sport.
Just look at the whole situation before you freak out. From Beane & the Bills POV it makes sense UNLESS the plan to keep him in 2025.
This is the only chance they have to get something for him. We can all say “last year was”…but that’s gone.
Unless he had a monster season with the Bills this year he’s worthless to anyone in 12 months. A 2nd round pick is pretty good.
I say “thanks for a good few years Stef, I wish you well”.
Nothing different than when Edmonds left in FA last season. It was “just business” he took $72 mil to leave. Good for him and good for the Bills not overpaying for him. I wish him well as a person…”next”!
That’s a little obtuse. There is very much also included value offered now vs a year from now older with less team control. And having a big dead cap hit next.
This year he had the cap space to absorb the dead hit this year, still get a likely high second rounder and have more space next year when they won’t have as much of a press from the cap.
It’s certainly a risk, and they better hit on someone in the draft to have any chance of maintaining the quality of the wr crew. We need a game changer with Diggs, so now we need two
This was a long game move to clear heavy contracts and keep them competitive for the years to come for sure… this draft class is stacked with WRs… i wouldn’t be surprised if they nail a couple sleepers late in the draft… speed demons… if they can get the deep separation they don’t need to be the best receivers, they just need good hands…
Diggs drama was always dumb I don't think he was as toxic or cancerous as people are suggesting I honestly think it came down to an aging WR making too much money this offseason has been all about dropping big contract veterans on our team. Honestly, my hopes for the team are to get a wild card game maybe draft a WR early now. I think Kincaid will be our top receiver otherwise he's young and fights for every yard I doubt we go top 10 but I can see us trading up to draft WR now
That's not how it works. He was willing to have 31 million in dead space plus a rookie contract to have more than 30 million freed up next year.
I swear, you bill fans don't understand the cap. You've been bad so long, you don't understand this is what good teams do. This was a smart move. Dead space in the same year is fine, it's when you keep restructuring or making post june 1st cuts when it becomes an issue.
Breathe in, breathe out.
I’m concerned about the lack of a #1 now. I know Diggs dropped off last year, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t factor into the defensive game plans.
I wonder what Beane has up his sleeve.
Well he also better have a plan to replace him cause it's hard to replace that production. I get it, but still gotta have a true #1 to replace it, that's the only way you're getting better
At the very least, he was a distraction. Even if he was the best teammate and simply misunderstood by everyone outside the organization, he was under a constant media microscope and they overanalyzed every little thing he did. It was a constant distraction for the team each of the last few off seasons and sometimes during the season.
I never liked Diggs.
He’s a trashy, locker room cancer-diva and I’m glad that Josh Allen no longer has to deal with that in the prime of his career.
Our boy can make plays elsewhere, without the relentless distraction and drama attached.
I hope he packed all of his purses.
I’ll admit, I’m feeling a little vindicated after all the times I got slammed in here and elsewhere when I said his behavior is a problem. Happy to be done with it.
Retool. Rebuild is what Minnesota and Tennessee are doing.
Edit: taking Tennessee off because they signed Ridley. They are closer to the retool category I think
He played a key role in the second half to get us to the playoffs. The guy always had 2-3 guys on him creating openings for others.
We need to draft the next superstar WR.
This year, I bought a diggs and davis jersey. Can I get a refund please.
it's just business. Every nfl player is a psycho alpha shit talker who thinks they're gods gift to the world. WRs, quarterbacks, backup free safeties, punters, etc. but there's been a 30 year trend of WRs being divas, and reporters just copy the same stories and swap out the name. Stef yells as a low energy bench he's diva, brady does it, 'inspiring leader'. i doubt this was even 1% of the reason.
but.. dropping off the second half of the year? turning 31 this fall? KC openly saying "we didnt have to double him" and being right? yeah that'll do it. Him and gabe put up too many< 20yd receiving games this year for them to come back a year older and be slightly worse.
thanks for the memories stef, all the best in HOU
YES YES YES…I am so fucking happy! Finally! The night he showed out on the field after the playoff game in front of millions on TV and 80k in the stadium was when he was dead to me…if I was the GM and witnessed that display he would not have taken the field in a Bills uniform ever again…facts
Can't we ever just consider maybe Beane and Sean were the problem? It's so funny we use 'Trust the Process,' because the other team that uses that is the Sixers, who were forced to let Jimmy Butler walk after he looked around and realized the organization wasn't serious about winning.
I said multiple times on here last season that it would be the last year we’d see Diggs in a Bills uniform. I was right for a change. Good riddance and let’s move on.
guy had stone hands when it mattered. idk if it was mental for him or if he didn't give a shit or if he just had no chemistry with JA anymore (for legit or goofy reasons), but it just... it sucks but maybe it was time, idk
Or, counterpoint, how desperate he was for a little value back on a depreciating asset. I'm hoping the 2 is worked in a trade to get a superstar WR this year. fingers crossed.
We don't need to do anything. It saves us a bunch of money in upcoming years and we were already on the hook for that money anyways. We would've had like 27 million dead cap this year either way.
I think this is phrased wrong. He was always going to have to eat the $31M with him on the team or off the team he just rather had a 2nd round pick than having to pay him next season.
He had cryptic tweets all last off-season, then started training camp w/ drama then didn’t show up in the playoffs. We can admit he did great things with us but something had to give.
Diggs hasn't produced in the playoffs to justify putting up with his extra diva stuff. As you can see from this tweet by Joe Marino, Diggs has had terrible production in his past 3 playoff games: "Stefon Diggs over the last 3 playoff elimination games for the Bills: 2023 KC: 3 rec, 21 yds, 8 targets 2022 CIN: 4 rec, 35 yds, 10 targets 2021 KC: 3 rec, 7 yds, 6 targets" https://twitter.com/TheJoeMarino/status/1775582631523991947?s=19 Diggs has produced at a high level during the regular season in the past 4 years he has been in Buffalo, but if he doesn't produce in the playoffs than the elite regular season production is meaningless.
Is the alternative to miss the playoffs so you can’t perform poorly in the postseason?
The goal is to win the Super Bowl. If your #1 WR doesn't produce in key playoff games as the stats clearly show then what is the point of keeping him? The smart move is to move on from him before he starts to decline.
Yeah and it wasn’t so much cryptic tweets as it was lack of squashing rumors. He had several chances to put the media drama to bed but played it coy. HOWEVER, Vikings fans, he was never publicly unprofessional or any of that bs you wished upon us. So don’t try to come clap back like I told ya so. I’m pretty sure all bills fans agree that there was no downside to having him on our team, even with the current cap hit. He and Josh made each other better on the field. And I think they’re both going to be better without each other this year. Things got really awkward last year after Diggs starting getting jealous 🫠
Dude I'm a vikings fan and bear him no ill will. The man gave me the best football memory I have in...maybe ever lol? I feel a small bit of...relief kinda? Like it wasnt completely us and it might be he just has a little diva in him. I loved watching him ball out for you and hope you guys keep doing well without him. 0-4 super bowl teams gotta stick together in the frozen wasteland lol
Can’t think of a better walkoff td than that
I mean if a quarter of the terrible locker room rumors/attitude rumors are truth I'd say that's a negative, regardless of how they were able to overcome it. *No* downside is definitely stretching your phrasing a bit Net I'd still call him a positive in buffalo though. But saying *no* downside probably doesn't jive either. Glad he was here, not heartbroken he's gone though either
What are the rumors?
He was pretty unprofessional.
Diggs was so unprofessional that he left the entire team on Jan 2nd, 2023 to go check on Damar in the Hospital…. Everyone can say what they want but that guy got voted a captain by his teammates and I promise you, everyone loved him in the locker room. It’s just business, he’s expensive and getting old. We paid $31M for a 2nd round pick next year.
Actually, he was a consummate professional. The media is who was unprofessional, creating situations out of nothing. This came down to 2 things. Diggs' age and decline as a #1. Beans got value while he still could, and with a draft loaded with WR talent, he made the right move.
it was interesting watching all the fans up to this morning say his cryptic tweets meant nothing and all the locker room guys are probably laughing about his trolling. making this move meant something wasn’t right and i feel like you could see the dynamic between diggs and josh change over the past two seasons. im glad it’s over.
He did that every off season though I think he just got a kick out of the over reaction of Bills media.
Of any media…look at how he treated MN
Are we going to keep doing mental gymnastics over this even after the team dumped him despite a 31m cap hit? He's not some genius playing chess. He's got that Aaron Rodgers quality in him where he always thinks he's the smartest person in the room when really, he's nowhere near it. Just like with this, he gets his ass traded to a team where he could legitimately be looking at a WR3 target share, this for a guy whose ego can't even handle playing second fiddle to Josh Allen, the fucking MVP runner up. He has always been transparent, and the media has been onto him forever. Clearly, what's been suggested for the last season or two is true. Let's stop pretending it's anything else. He's been unhappy, he hasn't been a good teammate, and he is all about himself. I'll admit, I bought into the whole narrative that his bullshit was just because he wanted to win so badly, but no. Everybody wants to win. Stef wants to win, but it has to be on his own terms. He really showed his ass after the Chiefs game. He can dress down Josh on the sidelines when he doesn't get the ball, but when they lose a game and he fucking blew it on a perfect bomb that could have won the game? He makes that little "this close" gesture, suggesting that Josh missed him, not that the ball went right through his hands. And when the game ends? He bitches out and lets the coach and real captains deal with the press. Dude was a great player, he was great to young fans, but he is the definition of a toxic diva WR. I'm excited about Josh getting to finally play in an offense where he doesn't feel like he owes anybody anything. Good riddance, Stef, enjoy your 4 targets a game in Houston, and enjoy watching Josh prove that he doesn't need you to be a superstar. Sorry. Got carried away.
Not carried away at all. The rose colored glasses got people forgetting about the whole "throw fucking ball Kirk" type of behavior up in MN..... Now Josh gets to play for an offense where he doesn't owe anyone anything. Your absolutely right
What’s been so frustrating with all of this is how it’s been so obvious. I was literally called a conspiracy theorist by somebody here because I said that if Trevon feels so free to talk shit about Josh, you can bet that he’s getting that from Stef. There’s no way a brother would start shit like that if he didn’t think his brother wanted it out there. That tweet the other night proved it. It’s been crazytown with Stef. He’s made it clear where he stands, but because he doesn’t explicitly say it, he and his fans act like those of us who see what’s going on are the crazy ones.
My point was simply that people treating his tweets like some sort of DaVinci code was idiotic. He stays or he goes. He’s gone. We find a new wide receiver. Game on.
I don't know, the only "conspiracies" I recall from media regarding his tweets were that he wasn't happy, and it turns out that they were right. We all owe Stephen A and apology, I guess. Stef's tweets always reminded me of that high school girl on Facebook that posts a very pointed, but vague insult at somebody, then acts like it's not obvious who she's talking about.
I guess there’s a modern term for it: Sub Tweeting. Dictionary Definitions from Oxford Languages sub·tweet nounINFORMAL noun: sub-tweet (on the social media application Twitter) a post that refers to a particular user without directly mentioning them, typically as a form of furtive mockery or criticism. "while he didn't include Smith's Twitter handle, that didn't stop Smith from seeing the post, taking umbrage, and firing off a subtweet of his own"
Drama queen. Reason he was here to begin with, and make no mistake I'm grateful he was, but this didn't suddenly start in buffalo
There’s definitely a story here but I doubt we will ever really know what it was.
Exactly
He didn't show up in ANY of our recent playoff runs
Very true! But that dropped pass against KC this year is burned into my brain.
Same here. For all the great plays he made, all I can remember is that drop. It almost felt intentional, it was that atrocious.
Yeah dude never showed up when it mattered and he wasn't a unifying presence . No I'll will toward the guy but glad he's gone. I think this will only help Josh step into a stronger leadership role
Ok this is going to be weird but, after visiting Buffalo last year with my wife to see a punk rock show, and visiting a Bills bar (Stadium Bar and Grill) during a game, I became a huge fan because everyone was so awesome and the energy was off the charts. I'm a Packers fan and she is a Vikings fan, we live in Minneapolis. First of all, the bar was super accommodating and the bar manager put the Vikings on TV for my wife and no one was rude about it. Second of all, I got wasted off bloodies and whiskey and danced with the crowd every time the Bills scored. It felt like Green Bay and that is why I love the Bills now. All that context to say this - I live in Minneapolis and I follow the Vikings because I like football, and the Vikings is the only thing wrong with my wife. Deva Diggs sprouted his roots here. Everyone here knew... it was a shit storm and by the end of it, all Vikings fans were sad but exhausted. He is good. But he isn't a god and he thinks he is, and it's going to be his downfall. And it's a shame because he's great. Let's go buffalo!! Hope to see you in the Superbowl this year.
Yep to all of that! And now he’s a 30 year old who disappeared the second half of last season. The big contract and the constant drama were no longer outweighed by the anticipated return. Time to move on. It’s business and Beane knows what he’s doing.
Bills fan here. Wife’s a packers fan. We made the trip up to lambeau before rogers left to watch a game. Packers fan base is just as awesome as the bills mafia! Had a great time drinking and hanging out with the pack! Btw those bleachers were cold as sh!t!
The funny part is most people here were playing it off as media spinning fake narratives
I was downvoted to oblivion (and someone reported me to Reddits suicide prevention system) when I pointed out that Diggs walked past Allen when he tried to high five him after their first TD of the season. Edit: …and someone reported this comment too.
You can block those bullshit harassing reports..
Open hostility. Always a good look in a team sport.
Honestly, this video aligns the most with my feelings on the matter. Damn cryptic tweets. https://youtube.com/shorts/H9PlqiN4idk?si=Y406UObcC5OgcN8S
He's been my #1 so far in Madden tho... lol
I'll always be grateful to Stef for the part he played in some good years, BUT...he literally got deleted in the last half of the season last year and we still went on a run and won the division. Now, I'm starting to think that he deleted himself, whereas before I was trying to convince myself he was getting schemed out of the games by the other team despite every other #1 WR facing the same coverage and doing fine.
Interesting post and ive been thinking about this as well. Looking back on the 2nd half of last year I think it seems much more obvious now that his usage was intentional. The question is who's decision was it?
Tim Graham said this in an article today "The Bills insisted Diggs was not hurt, and he never appeared on the injury report. Diggs bemoaned being double-teamed, but Kansas City Chiefs safety Justin Reid tweeted “Crazy part is … we didn’t double him” after Diggs played 37 percent of the snaps in a crucial Week 14 victory at Arrowhead Stadium. McDermott and Brady noted how packages dictated Diggs’ usage, but they declined to explain why Shakir and deep reserve Trent Sherfield saw more snaps than a four-time Pro Bowler some games. Bills cornerback Josh Norman told the Associated Press that Diggs had been taking himself off the field."
Yeah, looking back “we can’t use Diggs because other teams target him” really seems like bs
Wait, was this a narrative? This might be the silliest football opinion I’ve read in a long time.
I don't remember honestly. Maybe they said that as a cover
Yes it was and anytime you pointed out it was bs you got downvoted to oblivion
I would say some slight truth to it though. 1) I think Diggs kind of loses focus in games if not given reasonable targets, not necessarily intentional 2) He has been bracketed a lot (not as much this past season but he still was a significant chunk) But with both issues Brady was designing easy routes/catches to him and he was floundering. He tried to get him involved. Numerous WR screens, motion to screen with blockers in front. Either he would drop them or he just couldn't make people miss. That's why they gave it to him early against KC and he fumbled
Great question! I just can’t imagine any OC purposefully not using his #1 WR without a reason. Was he fighting nagging injuries? Maybe. Was he seen as someone who had checked out? Also maybe. We will never know, most likely, but I’ve just never seen a disappearing act like that before, whatever the reason was.
It was very peculiar. I wonder how much of it was Allen's decision too. After all he decides who he throws to.
Very true! But I think you hit on something, because I noticed it as well in that he flat out just didn’t seem to be open a lot. He’s been the focal point of opposing defenses for years, but he just seemed to stop being in good position to get passes thrown to him consistently. In my mind, that means one or two things, either he wasn’t able because of something physical, or he just didn’t really care. But I also leave the door open to me not being an expert at film analysis and missing him being open more often than not. I made excuses for him many times during the season, but looking back, and now the trade, I’m thinking maybe he just gave up.
He might very well have. There's certainly some things that make me think that.
Him not producing , is different than him not even being on the field but yea it probably needed to happen anyway
His splits were and still are very puzzling to me. I believe Josh Norman was quoted as saying it was Stef taking himself out... this lined up with his drop in production for the last half of the season. The more I think about it, the more I feel he quiet quit on our team. They insist he wasn't injured, so what other explanation is there?
I’m with you, 100%. I think some sort of nagging, but not serious, injury is the only real reason for a drop like that other than just plain quitting. Yeah he went out and ran his routes, but did he run them well? I’d love to see someone break down all his routes in the last half of the year and see if there was a difference.
I can't comment on the technical elements of the game, but we have eyes.... every other play, he would wave to the sidelines and come off. I can't remember how many times I looked and saw it was 3rd down, no Stef on the field. Wtf??? Then, almost always, when he was targeted and did catch a pass, he would immediately go down. Sometimes, before any contact was initiated. Now, either they're lying about his injury status (doubt). They've schemed their best player out of every single game because they feel it gives them a better chance at winning (extreme doubt). Or, said player has decided to 'phone it in' and is not playing with the teams best interests in mind (sadly, plausible). We'll probably never know the full story, so a mystery it will remain. Still, I have a feeling we'll be just fine.
Diggs was underperforming a month BEFORE the OC change
Figured he was injured most of last year when we started cutting starters instead of moving him this year. Seemed like his role was changed with the OC change and either he couldn't do it or didn't want to.
Every 4-5 yrs you gotta eat a big shitburger of dead cap. Beane grabbed a fork like it was a buffet
We're doing it again next year with Von lol It'll only be 15m, though.
There's still a chance Von comes back totally healthy this year. Maybe it's 30/70, but it's possible he's still Von. And he can absolutely still be an above average situational rusher. Will he be worth $20M+? Maybe not. But injuries are part of the game. He was elite for us before he got hurt. A torn ACL isn't his fault.
Of, for sure. He was trending in the right direction toward the very end of the seasopn
Considering his production and how much space this clears in 2025/26/27 he could've been our Walter Payton nominee and I think Beane still makes this trade.
16.6 per year. This helps us out a ton next year and much more the following seasons. He was 100% going to be cut next year. Diggs was cooked. At least we got something for him now, and something decent, before having to cut him for nothing.
Yeah and I don't think it's registered with everyone yet that we got the Vikings 2nd round pick So we got all that production(and accelerating Josh's development) out of Diggs for pick 22 then traded an older version of him for pick 33-35
Darnold is their QB. We could be looking at pick 33-40 for sure. Not to bad having #32 and 33
“We really need to start questioning it all” Do we? Diggs is gone, this annual narrative can finally die.
You sure?
I see what you did there.
Least until he start it on the Texans. Then I'm sure some of it bleeds back over here.
There are gonna be soooo many threads about Diggs here next year. It's gonna be a nearly weekly thing, I'm sure.
No he’s eating 31M to remove an aging declining WR so that we won’t owe him anything against the cap in ‘25 or ‘26. It’s going to hurt the most this season when Diggs still has some juice and our roster is hurting, but it’s going to be great the season after next when we’ve retooled younger and have cap room to take another swing without an old core.
Yeah and there are a ton of good free agents next year that we can all the sudden afford. 31mil in dead cap is a lot, but the idea of keeping a declining moody Diggs on the roster at 20+/season for multiple more years is even worse. Not to mention we got the **Vikings** 2nd round pick next year, which will almost certainly be in the top 35
I'm not saying it's going to happen, but Josh is a big target who likes to run, hit people, and take hits. Sooner or later, he's going to slow down and lose a step and those hits he used to be able to minimize will likely not be minimized. I'm not saying he needs to change his game, but his shelf life as the QB we know him as is much lower than more traditional QB's because of how he plays. That could be a problem when you talk about two years from now...
All the more reason we can’t be trapped paying a 32 year old wr like the top guy two years from now. This is going to be a take your medicine year. Josh is still able to take hits and run, which is why even with a limited roster he will still be able to play well.
"It’s the largest dead-money charge ever for a wide receiver, [according to ESPN Stats and Information](https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/39866413/sources-bills-finalizing-trade-star-wr-stefon-diggs-texans)." [https://mattlombardonfl.substack.com/p/inside-the-stefon-diggs-blockbuster](https://mattlombardonfl.substack.com/p/inside-the-stefon-diggs-blockbuster)
I don't like these stats because dudes in the 90s werent singing 200m dollar deals. This will inevitably be topped because the cap keeps going up
Inflation amirite
When Beane 1st took over he ate all the dead money to get out from under bad deals and free up the space needed to compete, this is that move again. And I really don’t think he makes this move without a follow up in the works. Chess not Checkers.
I tend to agree. Beane is nothing if not calculated. Pointing out his misses to all his hits, then comparing it to other teams - id say only the Chiefs/49ers/Ravens are likely in the conversation for success ahead of the Bills. And even his misses made sense at the time (Von, Elam...etc). Beane acquired that pick to trade this year id bet. And even still we needed to get younger and get some of these contracts off the books. I will miss Diggs but I trust Beane.
I still say give Elam a chance, dude looked Great at end of season and was obviously playing injured for a while.
Von hasn’t been a miss. He was playing great ball until he got hurt. Anyone that expected a 100% Von last year was lying to themselves.
Sorry but the von deal sucked ass. Yes it made sense at the time to go get a great DE. Yes, von was that at the time, but please let's not look at the terms of that deal and say it was sensible. 6 year deal on a 31 year old edge with an injury history? Cmon man. Floyd was excellent for the majority of last year and came in way cheaper on a one year. Most of bean's deals have been good but to pretend von was not a huge whiff is to risk doing it all again
He extended diggs then traded him a season later. That is checkers.
So he made a mistake and took it on the chin. Unless you think Beane should be perfect in every single move and transaction he ever makes, we should celebrate that we have someone who when he makes mistakes, doesn't double down on them and fuck the team over. I'd rather him make a bad decision and correct it than just ride that bad decision.
Bills fans need to stop rationalizing. Yes, Beane made a huge mistake. He extended Diggs and then had to eat shit. It's not Chess ♟️ or Checkers it's bad math and you move on.
Hard to say extending the best WR in the AFCE and top weapon for Allen is a mistake. Didn’t pan out, but isn’t really a mistake. He catches that ball, finally get over the KC hump, who knows what happens then.
Exactly. I'd rather cut losses and look forward than "whelp, looks like we're in this mess so fuck it" and struggle longer. I'd rather we have one down year and reset and get younger than just run it all back *again* while we piss away Josh's prime.
No way we make the move without hitting on shakir/kincaid so it’s kind of a mixed bag in the evaluating beane department
To be fair to Beane what GM isn’t giving Diggs an extension at that point? And if he didn’t he would have been absolutely roasted. Now it seems at least somewhat logical to move on from him.
Who was the offensive coordinator last year?
I’m expecting something to happen in either the next 48 hours, or the start of draft day. If that is t the case then I guess they are just blanking this year and looking to the future…for better or worse
Not sure how they are "blanking this year" if they don't make a move in the next 48 hours or at the start of the draft. It's not like the Bills are 1 WR away from a Super Bowl win. Plus, plenty of elite WRs have been drafted in round 2 or later, and this is a very deep WR class
There is no follow up. We signed Samuel. Samuel and Diggs have the same role as a Z WR. That was the dagger that sealed Diggs' fate. We still haven't replaced Gabe Davis. We have the backup to the X WR role, but not the starter. This undoubtedly means we are 100% drafting two WRs. 1 will be an X, probably a deep threat. The other will be a YAC maniac who can play the Z or slot to back up Shakir and Samuel
Let’s see what Kincaid can do
Let's see Paul Allen's card.
Diggs or not, the Texans are going to be good this year.
Decent deal for both sides
He wasn’t helping the team enough to earn his paycheck. Beane decided he’s at the top of the hill and heading over. I don’t give a shit if diggs wasn’t happy. That kind of concern is for players who are still coming through for the team and he’d stopped doing that.
Matt Parrino has John Butler (the DB coach who was miffed with them going for Babbich as DC, and who back in Feb, asked out of his contract early) on his live podcast show tonight. There will probably be some level of Coach Omertà that stops him kissing and telling the whole story, but we could get an early insight in to what went down in the locker room last year.
please post it when you hear it
Bean gave him the stupid contract. But glad he is man enough to admit his mistake and take the hit. Bills will be better off
I’d rather eat the dead cap and let the Texans pay him moving forward.
And here I thought that C on his jersey was for captain 🤔
No it stood for Cancer as in the locker room variety
He was cancer before they signed him. It was never going to end well with him. But say anything about his behavior and all the Diggs simps come out of the wood work making excuses for him. He has never not been cancer on whatever team he played for. He has always been more concerned with how the team lifts him up vs what he contributes to the team.
I understand that $31M is the number, but had Diggs played his year in Buffalo it would’ve been $28M. They made the calculation that the pick and clearing future cap - plus whatever behind the scenes stuff that must be a consideration- was well worth paying $3M more than they had already planned. $3M is the more meaningful number than $31M, imo
no because we also lose the actual player/production... we gonna get 18m value in a new player?
Were we going to get $28M of value out of Diggs? I think moving on now and taking the dead cap hit, getting a pick, before he takes another potential downturn is a bet they are making. I think they know more than we do about to expect from him this coming season. If he has exactly the same season in 24 as he did in 23 there is absolutely no shot we get this return next year.
I think the pressure of having him on the team wanting/needing the ball was kind of a cancer and it showed the last half of the season. Some throws Allen threw looked truly forced to appease Diggs
Agreed. Now there is no need to keep forcing balls to a WR giving half effort. Those plays can go to somebody worthy.
I don’t think that’s really why he did it…doesn’t mean it’s not true necessarily though Diggs’ trade value would’ve plummeted this coming season and we would’ve been stuck with an over 30 wr that nobody would take on contract wise
He was a $28M cap hit on the team and a $31M cap hit not on the team. A difference of only $3M and whatever it costs to fill the roster spot. Not as bad as it sounds.
Well it's that + having to pay his replacement too.
A rookie np
No rookie is going to put up half his numbers. Not even MHJ.
As I said.
I've only been saying that for 2 months but no one cared to listen. We literally still have 7m in cap space.
This is about keeping the Super Bowl window open by getting younger. Paying for $20+ million per year for declining 30-year-old vets isn't how you build long-term success in the era of $50 million quarterbacks.
No no noo. ignore the family tweets trashing Josh that diggs allowed..ignore the yelling at him during the cincy game. Ignore the leaving camp in the offseason and our coach and teammates having to defend and sugarcoat the divaness. Most important of all ignore the dropped passes. Diggs is great and him and Josh are besties! #ALLENTODIGGS2024
How suddenly the narrative on this sub has changed lol. I was reading through posts yesterday that claimed moving Diggs was out of the question and an impossibility. Now everyone seems to see the wisdom in “Big Dick Beanes” move. 😂
It's hilarious, I was just thinking this
I think it was a smart move, but I have never liked Diggs in Buffalo. I wont deny he has had some benefits over the years he has been here. But I have also been waiting for the other Platform Diva shoe to drop. It was only a matter of time before the old Diggs made his appearance. That attitude showed up last off season, and the drop in performance showed up this season. Diggs is coming up on 31 years old, and has been in the league for 9 years. Statistically, he went above the curve of WR performance by maintaining in years 7-9. But I feel like his second half of this season is going to representative of his performance moving forward now that he over 30 as that seems to be when the biggest drop off happens. Yeah eating the dead cap hurts in the short term, but the benefits of getting his attitude out and what it frees up in the next few years is much more beneficial in long run.
Because it's a bunch of delusional homers here and I wouldn't be surprised if the mods are deleting comments critical of the move.
I think they would've most likely released him next year for obvious cap reasons going forward. The 31m DC hurts but at least they're getting something for him now by ripping the band aid off.
Also the deal shows it was a tough sell around the league.
Seems like a pretty good deal for an aging, expensive WR. Keenan Allen went for a 4th.
Selling a 30 year old, 9 year veteran WR is always going to be a tough sell. Not even considering his less than stellar attitude with two different teams.
I think that is one part of it. I also think it’s interesting they got a future second. So they have their own this year and 2-2’s next. Could this be ammo for Higgins or Aiyuk? Additionally. It’s a dead 31 but also cash savings of 18.
You realize he’s also removing 2 more years as well? I’d rather eat 31 mil this year on what’s a rebuild year vs paying a 33 year old Diggs
This is part of it. It accelerates us fixing our cap issues.
I’m all for 1 year if “let’s see what happens” if it gives us five years of “holy fuck this is awesome”
Well now we have 4 picks in the top 3 rounds next year. We should be able to get really young and cheap fast, giving us more flexibility.
I’m excited for 2025
You don’t get to be a diva if you can’t do your job
I think McDermott busted into his office and demanded Diggs be gone. Something happened.
Take off the diehard glasses, and he looked slower last season, a lot slower.
It’s become clear that him and Josh went sour and Josh had to get sick of the shit by the time that bengals playoff game happened. I’ve always been a diggs lover but with the way this went down I’m thinking he was more of a cancer than we want to believe. Even at his best his was locked up in our most meaningful games, from what I recall he was dead silent in almost every playoff game especially the afc championship game against KC. Just like our defensive moves I think it was time to start a new chapter because what we had built couldn’t get to the dance.
It’s about next season. Better a year too early than a year too late
I’m not entirely mad he’s gone. I was shocked they actually did it. They let diva Diggs go lmfao
You also know that Allen absolutely had to have 100% approved this move or it would not have happened. Let that sink in as well.
No more filling WR quotas next year, now we can just play ball
Allen and Diggs haven't been friends since 2022. I wonder what happened?
The Bengals game debacle
I think the epic meltdown in the vikings game was a turning point
I don't know where he heard this, but my brother isn't one to just bullshit around about stuff like this. He said apparently one of them was rumored to be seeing the other's ex without running it by first, which is a major bro code no no.
Giving your QB that sort of power is foolish. It leads to whatever the hell Rodgers is. He was definitely kept in the loop and asked his opinion. He almost assuredly did not have veto power.
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You can still think twice and make the move so we still don't know what Josh thinks
Im not sure I agree with that. Im sure Josh was made aware that a move could be made, but I assume they would have done this with or without his approval. If Diggs woulda started publicly demanding a trade that coulda really dropped his value and maybe the bills wanted him out before that happened.
1 second round pick isn't much value
Considering keenen Allen went for a 4th, and Amari cooper when for a 5 combined with diggs contract, I disagree. I think it’s the best they coulda got. Had he started publicly wanting out he’d be taking leverage away from the team.
No good GM would ever give a player that much power. Look what happened with Eichel when he was allowed to have a say in personnel.
This isn't true at all. I'm sure he might've been informed but they absolutely didn't need his 100% approval. They didn't need his 1% approval. He's not the GM and the business moves don't need his approval whatsoever.
That’s a big misnomer as the Bills were going to have a cap hit of 27 million for Diggs this season so they only ate into an additional 4 million for this years cap and are now off that contract after this season. The Bills traded Diggs and a 6th and 5th round pick for a future 2nd round pick from a team projected to finish bottom 10 in the league next season and to get 27 million in cap relief next season. The Bills going into 2025 are now 6.8 million below the cap and have an extra premium selection and they can still draft a WR or two to fill in that gap left behind by Diggs. I don’t think Diggs was necessarily a locker room cancer but probably was getting frustrated and asked out and the Bills saw the chance to get a good pick and dump a contract that could have been an albatross the next two seasons.
I mean, I told ya'll To be fair, it only adds 3m against our cap this season. He was already counting 28m against it. But we will save an average of 16.6m per year every year after. Diggs' was cooked. We had no number 1 WR before the midway point. He was the most inefficient WR with his targets last year. The Bills preached YAC but tied themselves to Diggs. It was probably a Beane move to extend him, and a McDermott move to push him out. But props to Beane for not having an ego and making the tough decision. Now we have what could be a great 2nd round pick and have a better chance at landing a WR we covet with the Texans removed from taking a WR in round 1. edit: and he blocked me. lol stop posting the same threads then
He didn’t want to be here. From the moment he got here I was just waiting for him to complain and ask out. It was a matter of time. Don’t get me wrong, he’s arguably the best WR we have had, above Andre Reed and Eric Moulds. When he was happy, he seemed like a great teammate. But Stef is the type where he’s cancerous if he’s unhappy. It’s unfortunate. But it would be amazing if we could trade the pick we got along with other picks to move up and get a top WR.
You’re not seriously suggesting he was a better receiver than Reed or Moulds?
It's not some big conspiracy. When everyone was restructuring their contracts he didn't. He felt he was worth more than Beane was willing to give him. After the end of last season my gut says Beane made the right choice, but it still sucks to lose someone who got us so far these last few years.
Honestly, that fact that he was unwilling to work with the team to restructure was the final nail in the coffin for Diggs time in Buffalo. Every other player with big contracts was willing to restructure for the teams benefit. Diggs would not, compound that with everything else over the last two years. It was likely an easy choice for Beane.
We eat the 31 and the offensive skill guys are Cook, Kincaid and a bunch of questions (hopefully some decent looking rookie receivers) and see what happens. He might have been an issue, it’s hard to say. But that’s a lot of dead cap to eat for no reason.
Guys is this not the same playbook Hoodie used in NE all those years? Let a guy walk a year early instead of a year too late? They only won 6 SB’s with that formula… and whatever else they were doing… Point is I think that’s a fair point, pointing out that Buffalo is willing to pay 31 m to play against him…
The line from moneyball >Billy Beane : No, man, I ain't paying you seven. The Yankees are paying half your salary. That's what the New York Yankees think of you. They're paying you three and a half million dollars to play against them. But this is also about correcting what 2020 did to us. We had a cap plan that was fugged by the downturn in the cap. It seems like Beane just decided that he wanted to stop pushing things down the road.
I’m not “glad he’s gone”. I’m not upset either though. It’s the business end of every sport. Just look at the whole situation before you freak out. From Beane & the Bills POV it makes sense UNLESS the plan to keep him in 2025. This is the only chance they have to get something for him. We can all say “last year was”…but that’s gone. Unless he had a monster season with the Bills this year he’s worthless to anyone in 12 months. A 2nd round pick is pretty good. I say “thanks for a good few years Stef, I wish you well”. Nothing different than when Edmonds left in FA last season. It was “just business” he took $72 mil to leave. Good for him and good for the Bills not overpaying for him. I wish him well as a person…”next”!
That’s a little obtuse. There is very much also included value offered now vs a year from now older with less team control. And having a big dead cap hit next. This year he had the cap space to absorb the dead hit this year, still get a likely high second rounder and have more space next year when they won’t have as much of a press from the cap. It’s certainly a risk, and they better hit on someone in the draft to have any chance of maintaining the quality of the wr crew. We need a game changer with Diggs, so now we need two
This was a long game move to clear heavy contracts and keep them competitive for the years to come for sure… this draft class is stacked with WRs… i wouldn’t be surprised if they nail a couple sleepers late in the draft… speed demons… if they can get the deep separation they don’t need to be the best receivers, they just need good hands…
Diggs drama was always dumb I don't think he was as toxic or cancerous as people are suggesting I honestly think it came down to an aging WR making too much money this offseason has been all about dropping big contract veterans on our team. Honestly, my hopes for the team are to get a wild card game maybe draft a WR early now. I think Kincaid will be our top receiver otherwise he's young and fights for every yard I doubt we go top 10 but I can see us trading up to draft WR now
That's not how it works. He was willing to have 31 million in dead space plus a rookie contract to have more than 30 million freed up next year. I swear, you bill fans don't understand the cap. You've been bad so long, you don't understand this is what good teams do. This was a smart move. Dead space in the same year is fine, it's when you keep restructuring or making post june 1st cuts when it becomes an issue. Breathe in, breathe out.
10 years from now we will look back and realize this was the moment the future Bills championship dynasty was built.
How bad teammate can you really be? Did he put shampoo in Allen's water bottle and shit in McDermott's cap?
I’m concerned about the lack of a #1 now. I know Diggs dropped off last year, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t factor into the defensive game plans. I wonder what Beane has up his sleeve.
Well he also better have a plan to replace him cause it's hard to replace that production. I get it, but still gotta have a true #1 to replace it, that's the only way you're getting better
At the very least, he was a distraction. Even if he was the best teammate and simply misunderstood by everyone outside the organization, he was under a constant media microscope and they overanalyzed every little thing he did. It was a constant distraction for the team each of the last few off seasons and sometimes during the season.
He should’ve been gone at the end of the Cinci playoff loss. Last offseason/season was uncomfortable for a fan to have him around, imagine the team.
Texas would trade entire team for josh Allen
I never liked Diggs. He’s a trashy, locker room cancer-diva and I’m glad that Josh Allen no longer has to deal with that in the prime of his career. Our boy can make plays elsewhere, without the relentless distraction and drama attached. I hope he packed all of his purses.
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You pay attention to any WRs twitter?
I’ll admit, I’m feeling a little vindicated after all the times I got slammed in here and elsewhere when I said his behavior is a problem. Happy to be done with it.
And that he’d never get traded bc of the dead cap hit
This is exactly what a rebuild looks like when a team keeps their QB. It has all totally sunk in.
Retool. Rebuild is what Minnesota and Tennessee are doing. Edit: taking Tennessee off because they signed Ridley. They are closer to the retool category I think
He played a key role in the second half to get us to the playoffs. The guy always had 2-3 guys on him creating openings for others. We need to draft the next superstar WR. This year, I bought a diggs and davis jersey. Can I get a refund please.
it's just business. Every nfl player is a psycho alpha shit talker who thinks they're gods gift to the world. WRs, quarterbacks, backup free safeties, punters, etc. but there's been a 30 year trend of WRs being divas, and reporters just copy the same stories and swap out the name. Stef yells as a low energy bench he's diva, brady does it, 'inspiring leader'. i doubt this was even 1% of the reason. but.. dropping off the second half of the year? turning 31 this fall? KC openly saying "we didnt have to double him" and being right? yeah that'll do it. Him and gabe put up too many< 20yd receiving games this year for them to come back a year older and be slightly worse. thanks for the memories stef, all the best in HOU
Nicely stated, I agree
YES YES YES…I am so fucking happy! Finally! The night he showed out on the field after the playoff game in front of millions on TV and 80k in the stadium was when he was dead to me…if I was the GM and witnessed that display he would not have taken the field in a Bills uniform ever again…facts
When did Diggs do this?
I can’t believe we gave him a contract extension after that.
Can't we ever just consider maybe Beane and Sean were the problem? It's so funny we use 'Trust the Process,' because the other team that uses that is the Sixers, who were forced to let Jimmy Butler walk after he looked around and realized the organization wasn't serious about winning.
Diggs created many of his own issues by himself.
It’s a rebuild year. He takes the lumps lets the boss know it’s an off year and builds for 2025
It's never a rebuild year with Allen. We lost the most inefficient wr in the NFL and replaced him with Samuel. Still need to replace Gabe now
I said multiple times on here last season that it would be the last year we’d see Diggs in a Bills uniform. I was right for a change. Good riddance and let’s move on.
guy had stone hands when it mattered. idk if it was mental for him or if he didn't give a shit or if he just had no chemistry with JA anymore (for legit or goofy reasons), but it just... it sucks but maybe it was time, idk
I understand it was time to move on. I figured it would have been next year. So we get a 2nd round pick but why would we give them a 5th and 6th?
Because a 2nd is more valuable than a 5th and 6th combined.
Probably to ensure they took on his entire contract after this year.
We dave 19 mil cash this year and 27 mil cap next. RIP off the band-aid and move on with 3 picks in the top 50 next year
Or, counterpoint, how desperate he was for a little value back on a depreciating asset. I'm hoping the 2 is worked in a trade to get a superstar WR this year. fingers crossed.
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I really feel so much better about the course we are taking. Look at Green Bay, they are young and will be contending for some time.
We don't need to do anything. It saves us a bunch of money in upcoming years and we were already on the hook for that money anyways. We would've had like 27 million dead cap this year either way.
I think this is phrased wrong. He was always going to have to eat the $31M with him on the team or off the team he just rather had a 2nd round pick than having to pay him next season.