After the second major transaction involving Stefon Diggs for the Buffalo Bills, the dust has begun to settle. The public statement released by One Bills Drive following Diggs’ trade to the Houston Texans was an admission that the 2024 Bills are still a work in progress. Even if some talent has left, this club is still being built to be competitive.
General manager Brandon Beane stated last week, “You’re trying to win, and sometimes people may not see that.” “By no means is [Trading Diggs] the Bills giving up, wanting to regress, or anything of the sort. We are attempting to win at all we do, and we will keep doing so.”
The move made last week put a cap on an offseason in which established veteran starters were let go and contract space was cleared for upcoming seasons. Not only are the Bills still in position to choose 10 players in the draft, but there is still a chance that late free agent signings will occur. Rebuilding is sometimes indicated by trading away top players, and the Bills are rebuilding their team in a manner, albeit not in the conventional sense of dismantling everything and beginning anew.
Because Josh Allen, a quarterback, is on the roster, this club will look different and be younger, but the goal hasn’t changed all that much.
Diggs’ four-year career with the Bills is evident in his statistical output. During his tenure in Buffalo, the three-year captain and four-time Pro Bowler amassed 445 receptions and 5,372 receiving yards. That is the third-most receptions and second-most receiving yards by a player over a four-year period who started the next season with a different team, according to Elias Sports. In those four years, no player had more receptions than that.
Diggs was a key component of the Bills’ recent winning streak and will go down as one of the team’s best trade acquisitions. The documents are extensive. Furthermore, there’s no denying Diggs’ contribution to Allen’s professional advancement. Before the Bills acquired Diggs in 2020,
Allen completed 56% of his throws, had a QBR of 49.5 overall, and tossed 30 touchdowns to just 21 interceptions. Since then, Allen has thrown 137 touchdowns to 57 interceptions, completed 66% of his throws, and has a cumulative QBR of 71.4.
Although Diggs’s goals decreased over the 2023 season, they remained lofty. During his greatest games of the year, which occurred in Weeks 1-6, Diggs, 30, averaged 11 targets per game; but, for the remainder of the season, he only averaged 8.6 targets.
