By CNN
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Star wide receiver Stefon Diggs has been traded from the Buffalo Bills to the Houston Texans, the Bills announced on Wednesday.
Buffalo receives a 2025 second-round draft pick in exchange for Diggs, while the 30-year-old heads to Texas along with a 2024 sixth-round pick (No. 189 overall) and a 2025 fifth-round pick.
“I can’t begin to express the amount of love and respect I have for the city of Buffalo. Four of the best years of my life, the city welcomed me with open arms. I’m forever grateful for you all and the [Bills] organization!” Diggs wrote on Instagram on Wednesday.
“Something special was built over these years with some very special men, that will always have a place in my heart. Billsmafia, so many great memories created throughout the years. Those games were crazy because of you. Sadly good things come to an end until we meet again. 14.”
Bills general manager Brandon Beane was full of praise when he spoke to reporters on Wednesday following the trade.
“I think we just want to appreciate when we had Stef here, the years we did, and again, you don’t want to get into every reason you make every move,” Beane said. “It’s not one thing with any player, we’ve traded other players here, we’ve acquired players, him being one.
“Everything you do, you think is the best decision, and you weigh the pros and the cons of every decision like this, and you don’t take it lightly. But you’re always making it in the best interest of the Bills, and that’s what we’re trying to do here, and you know, we made the move.”
A move to Texas
Diggs has been one of the best receivers in the NFL since arriving in Buffalo in 2020, forming a deadly connection with quarterback Josh Allen.
A fifth-round pick in 2015 by the Minnesota Vikings, Diggs led the NFL with 127 catches and 1,535 yards in his first year in Buffalo. Over four seasons with the Bills, Diggs racked up 5,372 receiving yards and 37 touchdowns.
However, with consistent playoff struggles and the team struggling with its salary cap, the decision to move on from the veteran wide receiver was made on Wednesday.
Now he’ll be catching passes from Houston quarterback CJ Stroud, who enters his second season with high expectations after a historic rookie campaign.
It’s a shock move for the Bills to move on from Diggs, and one which shows the Texans’ intentions entering the 2024 season.
The veteran enters his 10th NFL season joining a youthful wide receiver group, one spearheaded by Nico Collins and Tank Dell, as they now become one of the most feared trios in the league.
With Stroud coming off a stellar debut season in the NFL, having a cast of dynamic options should make his life easier as the Texans look to transition from upstarts to Super Bowl hopefuls.
As for the Bills, it’s the turning of the page for the organization now with a glaring need for a wide receiver heading into the draft.
Allen’s current receiving crew lacks the star power associated with a team vying for a Super Bowl title, with the team now predicted to target a pass catcher in the first round of April’s draft.
