The Buffalo Bills are poised to have a difficult year next season after losing multiple players in free agency, with the most recent being Josh Allen’s top offensive weapon, Stefon Diggs. Unlike other moves, however, Diggs’ trade to Houston was not part of financial restructuring and came as a surprise for everyone. This subsequently led to speculation about why Diggs would choose to leave one of the best QBs in the AFC and a team that constantly makes the playoffs.
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During a recent appearance on the Up&Adams Show, former wideout DeSean Jackson asserted that the reason Stefon moved to Houston is that the Bills have barely made an impact in the postseason, particularly falling to the Chiefs three times in the last 5 seasons. Interestingly, agreeing with DeSean’s take, Chad Johnson, during the recent episode of Nightcap, didn’t mince his words and called the Texans ‘a better situation‘ for Stefon Diggs.
Ocho also stated that for all the appreciation that Allen gets, he has failed to take his team to the promised land even with elite weapons around him and warned the star QB that the situation will only get more difficult in the coming months since he is losing his trustee targets one by one.
“I don’t think he (DeSean Jackson) really wanted to say it like it based on where we are at, but I’ll say it for him,” Ocho remarked. “He’s (Stefon Diggs) going to a better situation. Josh Allen is great, as great as he is, he’s going to have to show he’s as good as we think he is without that elite talent around him… Because again, when you don’t have a true No. 1, things get very difficult.“
One could very well argue that Diggs might feel that playing alongside a young QB like CJ Stroud would finally give his team an edge in the playoffs. Or the offer was too good to pass on.
Even though both teams exited the playoffs at a similar stage, there is much more optimism around the Texans next season, given the depth of their squad and recent signings made in free agency.
Houston Texans vs. Buffalo Bills
While the fixture dates for the 2024-25 season have not yet been announced, Diggs and his Texans will certainly meet the Bills as part of intra-conference games between the AFC East vs AFC South division. It’s also worth mentioning that both teams reached the playoffs, falling short in the divisional round. While Houston made the playoffs after a considerable period, the Bills have been consistent, but unfortunately, have failed to advance up to the Big Game since 1992.
In 2023, the Texans lucked out when they landed CJ Stroud in the draft, and after a standout debut season, the club is planning to build their team around him. They had one of the best O-Lines last season, and have made considerable signings to strengthen the team since last season. As per Spotrac, besides Stefon Diggs, they have also signed RB Joe Mixon from the Bengals and extended the contracts of TE Dalton Schultz and WR Noah Brown. Most of the other signings have been made in the defensive department, which happened to be their weak link last season. With Nico Collins and Tank Dell already present, it will be another interesting year for Houston and Stroud.
The Bills, on the other hand, have lost their starting receivers, Diggs and Davis. To make space in the cap, they released several players before the start of free agency; however, they did fill those positions immediately, signing multiple players. To fill the receiving department, they signed experienced wideouts — Curtis Samuel and Mack Hollins. While they are most likely to pick a receiver like Adonai Mitchell with their first-round pick, the Texans are cooking something special down there in Houston, and feel like Stefon jumped ships at the right time in his career.
