When Stefon Diggs was traded to the Buffalo Bills in 2020, it was the starting point of the Bills becoming a championship contender. Now, they have become one of the league’s top teams and as long as Josh Allen is in his prime. Even though the Bills and Allen are in a great position now, it came with some bumps along the way which included drama with Diggs which started in the Bills’ blowout loss in the 2023 divisional round against the Bengals.
From there on out, there was reported tension between the Bills and Diggs and while they managed to get through the 2023 season together, Brandon Beane had enough of it and decided to take on a $30+ million dead cap hit by trading Diggs to the Houston Texans.
Diggs had a strong start in Houston before tearing his ACL and the Bills completely dominated the AFC East by winning the division in Week 13 and made it to the AFC championship game. Now, the Bills are looking to go even further while Diggs will be facing the Bills twice this year as he signed with the New England Patriots on a three-year deal worth $63.5 million which was quite expensive for an injured wideout coming off a major injury.
Bleacher Report says quiet part out loud about Patriots signing Stefon Diggs
Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report listed the five “riskiest moves” of this offseason and in the middle at No. 3, the Patriots signing Diggs was listed. Here’s a bit on what Knox said about New England signing Diggs to be their No. 1 receiver:
"If Diggs cannot regain his Pro Bowl form, he could become a pricey bust for the Patriots. New England isn't expected to be playoff-relevant in 2025—which may be why it needed to spend so lavishly to attract an aging, injured receiver."Kristopher Knox, Bleacher Report
While it has been reported that Diggs is progressing well from his torn ACL, it’s still a major injury and he’s going to an offense where we don’t know how he will be utilized. Drake Maye showed signs that he can be a franchise quarterback, but Bills fans know how this could easily play out.
Maye and Diggs might become a great combo early on but the second that Maye doesn’t throw towards Diggs, that’s when the drama will start. It happened when he was in Minnesota and it happened when he was in Buffalo. Due to the fact that New England doesn’t have any big time proven weapons on the roster, it makes sense why they spent the money they did to acquire Diggs.
At the same time, it’s a massive risk that could easily make the Patriots look foolish and Bills fans can only laugh about it.