Bills GM Brandon Beane shoots down popular narrative with explanation of Stefon Diggs trade
The end of Stefon Diggs' tenure with the Buffalo Bills was anything but simple. Filled with lots of controversy, the wide receiver ended up on a different team, while the Bills were left without their star weapon. And for this first time since the trade, Bills general manager Brandon Beane opened up about what happened. […]
The end of Stefon Diggs' tenure with the Buffalo Bills was anything but simple.
Filled with lots of controversy, the wide receiver ended up on a different team, while the Bills were left without their star weapon. And for this first time since the trade, Bills general manager Brandon Beane opened up about what happened.
"I would say with Stef, we had a lot of great times and he’s a big part of our success. Four years, we win four divisions. And ultimately, we talked about transition," Beane told Go Long's Tyler Dunne. "We just decided at this time — for us and for him, where we were in the transition — it all made sense. And we got some young guys that we wanted to step up in various areas."
The Bills traded Diggs to the Houston Texans at the beginning of April in exchange for 2025 second-round pick. And it came less than 24 hours after the receiver replied to a tweet explaining that Josh Allen didn't need a game-changing receiver to be great by saying "You sure?"
And that was just the latest move he made in a season that appeared to have a lot of tension.
So it was the best move for everyone to go their separate ways.
"The timing was probably it. With where we were with the transition, where we were heading and, again, he’s still a really good player. Zero ill will towards Stef," Beane said. "Thankful for all he brought to our team, but ultimately we’re still trying to get over the top. I know he’s trying to get over the top and you’re constantly looking at the tweaks you need to make."
Before and after the trade went down, there were reports that Diggs wanted out. But according to Beane, it was never done in a disrespectful way.
Yeah, no doubt. We’ve always had good dialogue with (his agent) Adisa (Bakari) and Stef and more was probably always made on the outside than on the inside," the general manager explained. "Like any decision, there’s pros and cons. You weigh ‘em all out and you’re trying to make the best decision. Not for me, not for Sean McDermott, you’re making it for the Buffalo Bills. And that’s probably as plain as I said, trying to evaluate every positive and negative of doing it, knowing that not everyone’s going to agree."
So for Beane, there is no bad blood.
"There’s a lot of positives with Stef. So you’re not going to hear me say — and I mean it — anything negative about him because we won a lot with him and we obviously made a bold move to get him," he added. "You’re constantly looking for how you’re going to tweak and change your roster. Where do you want to add? Where do you want to take away? And what’s our best moves for 2024?"
This chapter is officially closed, so it's time for the Bills to build an identity without Diggs.
