A win-win exchange? SI writer says the Bills and Texans succeeded

Transactions, by their nature, are intended to be mutually beneficial transactions. In other words, both teams are expected to “win” the rally.

It can be argued that this is the case when looking at the deal that sent wide receiver Stefon Diggs from the Buffalo Bills to the Houston Texans earlier this offseason.

Sports Illustrated writer Gilberto Manzano has identified the “winners” and “losers” of the NFL offseason, with the Bills and Texans leading the list of winners. Manzano named the “teams involved in the Diggs trade” as the first of nine winners this offseason.

Information systems NFL offseason winners and losers:

“Don’t be surprised if the Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans face each other in the AFC Championship Game. Obviously, that would mean getting rid of the Kansas City Chiefs. But that daunting task could have become easier for the Bills and the Texans after the departure of Diggs Josh Allen will become Stroud’s new weapon.

It was time for a change for the Bills and Diggs. Salary cap issues and frustrations with failures over the last four seasons have not allowed the Bills to continue to field the same core group. With Diggs gone, the Bills were forced to get creative with how they built their team this offseason and that creativity should continue on the field on Sundays. Perhaps a new approach could be the key to helping Buffalo get over the hump. …”

Diggs noticeably faded down the stretch in 2023. Over the course of two playoff games, he gained 73 yards on 17 total targets and was held out of the end zone.

After sending Diggs packing, the Bills must absorb approximately $31 million in “dead” salary cap space on their 2024 roster. In 2025, however, Diggs, who signed a long-term contract, will be completely removed from Buffalo’s books.

“A player of his caliber, you weigh a lot on the situation,” Beane said in a recent exclusive interview on The Athletic football show podcast. “At the end of the day, we just talked about the (salary) cap, you make moves, I don’t need to go through all the reasons why we decided to go ahead and do this “I would say from a cap perspective, we decided to just go ahead and eat it now, and we think we can compete and do what we need to do by eating it now.”