BarleyNY

Is anyone else more disgusted than usual with the media regarding the Diggs trade? Virtually every Bills centric media member was dismissive about the possibility of him being traded beforehand. Some went so far as to be rude about it and acted like people making the suggestion were idiots for even thinking it was a possibility. Fast forward to the aftermath and I’ve yet to hear one utter anything in the way of a mea culpa. I literally heard one of the more dismissive ones start off their podcast with “Well, it finally happened!” Like it was something he’d been expecting. It’s a good reminder that so many media people are just playing a game. I shared here that an NFL reporter who’d been in Vegas for SB week had said that the big rumor among teams that week was that the Bills would be trying to trade Diggs this offseason. I don’t write that here to LAMP. But if it’s something that can make it to someone like me, how do they not hear it. They’re supposedly so well connected. Or is it that they collectively kept a lid on it? I dunno, either way it’s not a good look. I lost a lot of respect for many of them.

It isn’t riskier for Diggs to have the one year deal versus the old one. His contract had no guarantees beyond 2024 so 2025 and after would’ve effectively been a team option. Roster bonuses eliminated any injury risk to the Texans of having to keep and pay him. Obviously a multi year contract with guaranteed money beyond 2024 would’ve been better for Diggs, but he got the next best thing.

Diggs’ leverage was choosing the Texans. That’s particularly important with a player who has forced his way out of two teams when he had several seasons left on each of his contracts.

This highlights the real problems with that kind of difficult situation. Allen was handcuffed. He wasn’t really in a position to be able to tell off Diggs and put him in line. You can only do that when you’re able to kick someone to the curb and that just barely became feasible this offseason. Florio was right that Diggs had the power in the relationship. Allen had to play peacemaker because burning down the relationship with Diggs would hurt the whole team. The real issue was the contract extension the Bills gave him. You can’t make a guy like Diggs happy for long. He’s only happy if he gets every last thing he wants and the minute he doesn’t he goes back to being a massive problem.

Obviously. This isn’t something that just popped up either. The contract was part of the whole deal. This isn’t unusual in the NFL today. Look at the Jeudy trade from Denver to Cleveland. So many people asked why the Browns extended him so soon after trading for him. Isn’t it obvious that it was part of the package deal to acquire him? This is how it works now when the player has leverage.

If I agreed with you on the number of holes in the roster then it would be easy to say we should push in for a stud WR prospect or player. I don’t so it is not that simple. Our defense needs a pass rush and difference makers in the worst way. I think an argument can still be made to do it though. Get MHJ, Nabors or Odunze this year and then start finding those difference makers on defense in FA next offseason. That’s a reasonable strategy. I’d be happy to go this route if it’s for one of the top 3 WRs in the draft. I have no interest in a big move for any other WR prospect though.

apparently not

Diggs gets more money this year and gets to choose where he plays next year. Seems like a good deal for him and pretty straightforward.

While I’m sure Beane is investigating all options and will do his best to fill the hole opened by Diggs’ departure. I don’t think it went down with a master plan though. Diggs had wanted out for some time and things were at a breaking point. It is what it is. Beane will manage the situation as best he can.

You think he’d rather be on the Bills than the Texans? He knows he doesn’t have many good years left. He dipped on a team taking a step back so it can start another run for a hot team on the rise. Besides it’s not like he hasn’t been unhappy here in Buffalo and trying to get out for years.

Aiyuk’s salary is $14.1M this year. Would love to have him here and would support him getting paid, but it’s not feasible this year.

This - and it’s likely where he wanted to go. More and more agents are making an effort to direct their players to preferred destinations. Everyone knows how Diggs would act if he had been traded to any team that wasn’t a contender so his trade value was nil to those teams. I’m sure he had a very short list of acceptable teams and the Texans were the one that got the deal done.

Dude. That would be nuts. And I can totally see it happening.

I don't think it was a coincidence that Allen was unreachable when this went down. He was either on board or maybe even driving the bus on this one.

All we need is for the Bills to draft really well, everyone to stay healthy while meshing together seamlessly, and the other contenders to have crippling injuries. Then all we have to do is not choke away a playoff game en route to our first SB win. It’s that simple. Why can’t you negative Nancys see that?

Fully agree that this would have been the logical time to make a change at HC. By not doing so they will move forward and rebuild the team the way McDermott wants. It is a terrible idea to get into a rebuild and then dump your HC halfway through. That can set a team back years when the new HC makes their changes. I don’t see that happening, so this tells me that the Pegulas expect McDermott to be here for that whole process. He’s signed through the 2027 season so there’s no real chance of a HC change until before the 2026 or 2027 season. Like it or not - and I don’t - that’s the realistic view of the situation.

If that’s the cost then I’m in. I do not trade up if it’s more or if I can’t get one of the top three WRs.

Excellent take. Tre edges out Kyle for me. Diggs sucks but not in the same way as them.

Kyle hurt, but Tre White getting cut this off-season was worse for me. Probably worse than Diggs.

No question there will be less talent than with Diggs in the team. But. It is clear he wasn’t happy here and that the relationship was breaking down pretty badly. That can drag down production and create issues within the team. Also long term the team gains back $19M in cash and cap space as well as Minnesota’s 2025 second round pick. Realistically how many more quality seasons does he have left? Years ago he was a top 4 WR, then he was a top 8 before this past season when he was top 16. He’ll likely fall off a bit more in 2024. Bummer about the screen name. I know a lot of fans are taking this hard.

I'd go so far as to say Allen likely did more than bless it.

I said it when we signed Samuel, he's the Diggs replacement. Same style of Z/Y WR. We could've managed this season with Diggs, Samuel and a rookie sharing the load at X, but Samuel was going to take over for Diggs sooner or later. We needed an X before we traded Diggs and we need one now. Likewise my hope that the Bills will take a WR early and then another later hasn't changed.

The truth is like poetry. No one likes poetry.

Good observation

My 18 year old daughter remains inconsolable.