Titans division rival makes huge mistake to ruin shocking Stefon Diggs trade
The Houston Texans shocked the NFL world and stirred things up in the AFC South when they executed a trade with the Buffalo Bills for wide receiver Stefon Diggs earlier this week. Diggs has been on the NFL's best wide outs for a number of years. He has recorded 1,000+ receiving yards in six consecutive […]
The Houston Texans shocked the NFL world and stirred things up in the AFC South when they executed a trade with the Buffalo Bills for wide receiver Stefon Diggs earlier this week.
Diggs has been on the NFL's best wide outs for a number of years. He has recorded 1,000+ receiving yards in six consecutive seasons and hauled in over 100 passes in five of his last six campaigns. Year over year, he is about as consistent as they come, and he has the ability to take over a game at any point.
Adding Diggs to an already strong receiving corps that includes Nico Collins, Tank Dell, Noah Brown, John Metchie III, and Robert Woods is just the cherry on top for a Texans team that was already favored to win the AFC South.
But in the days since agreeing to the deal, Houston has made a huge mistake that makes this situation significantly worse for them. The Tennessee Titans and other AFC South teams should be rejoicing over it.
As a way of incentivizing Diggs, the Texans wiped out the final three years remaining on Diggs’ contract from his time in Buffalo. Houston opted to take $3.5 million that was guaranteed to Diggs in 2024 and pay him that as a raise in 2024.
It's great for Diggs. $22.52 million in total guaranteed money in 2024. The ability to become a free agent after the 2024 season and cash in once again if he has another big year. He'd also be able to choose his team and sign with a Super Bowl contender.
As for the Texans…I'm not really sure what's in it for them. Adam Schefter wrote that "Houston now anticipates getting the best version of Stefon Diggs" in 2024…But if you have to jump through hoops like making 2024 a contract year to get Diggs to play his hardest, he's probably not somebody you should be trading for in the first place. Maybe it's just me, but I find this a bit odd.
While I'm on the subject, because the Texans altered Diggs' contract, he is no longer a compensatory free agent. So if Diggs were to leave Houston in free agency next offseason, they would get nothing in return.
So, to recap: The Texans traded a second-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft for one year of Stefon Diggs. They could have had multiple years of control had they not altered the contract in the name of "incentivizing" a 30-year-old veteran to play hard.
Not only will they no longer get a compensation pick, they also are now unable to benefit long-term from his production if Diggs still has a lot of football left in the tank.
This was a bad move by the Texans, who have had an otherwise very strong offseason. But this really shifts my perspective on the Stefon Diggs trade. It now feels like they've turned it into a loss…and that's good news for the rest of the division.
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