The Buffalo Bills have moved on from mercurial star WR Stefon Diggs. It was a divorce that has been coming for a while, but the degree to which the Bills have suffered in this trade is eye watering.
Not content with trading away their best receiver, having already lost Gabe Davis in FA, Buffalo only got a 2025 second round pick in return, whilst also coughing up a 2024-sixth round pick and a 2025-fifth round pick.
Buffalo will take on a massive, WR record dead cap hit of $31.096-million, but save $19-million in making the move.
So what’s the Bills plan?
Bills General Manager Brandon Beane thanked Diggs for his time in Buffalo, while also trying to placate fans that this wasn’t a team in rebuild mode.
“I want to thank Stef for four really good seasons,” Bills general manager Brandon Beane said. “Really appreciate everything he brought to the team, was a big part of us winning four divisions. These moves are never easy. Very hard. Not made overnight or anything like that, but anytime you make a move like this … you’re trying to win, and sometimes people may not see that.
“This is by no means the Bills giving up or trying to take a step back or anything like that. Everything we do, we’re trying to win. And we’re going to continue to do that.”
This years draft is a deep one for wide receiver talent, so expect Buffalo to hit that pool in the first round, and maybe in later rounds as well. But this is a team that now has a major need at the position. Removing the drama and ego that goes with Diggs may be a positive but losing his talent will undoubtedly sting.
They will likely need to look at free agency to pick up a veteran with leadership potential to help lead this group. While the Bills may think Josh Allen can do a Patrick Mahomes and win with a bunch of offcuts, that may not be as simple as Mahomes made it look at times.
One thing is certain, the pressure on head coach Sean McDermott and QB Josh Allen in 2024 will be even greater than in 2023.
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