Bills' Updated Salary Cap, NFL Draft Picks After Stefon Diggs Trade with Texans
Mike Chiari@@mikechiari
Featured Columnist IVApril 3, 2024
The Buffalo Bills sent shockwaves through the NFL on Wednesday by reportedly agreeing to trade four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Bills are sending Diggs, a 2024 sixth-round draft pick and a 2025 fifth-round draft pick to the Texans for the Minnesota Vikings' 2025 second-round draft pick.
By trading Diggs now, the Bills take on $31 million in dead cap, meaning they are absorbing an additional $3.2 million cap hit than they would have had they kept Diggs on the roster.
Rich Cimini @RichCiminiThe Bills were so desperate to get Diggs off the team that it's costing them more in cap space to NOT have him ($31.1M) than to have him ($27.9M) -- a record amount of dead money for a non-QB, per Overthecap. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bills?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bills</a>
OverTheCap.com listed the Bills as having about $7.675 in salary-cap space before the trade, meaning their cap space is now around $4.475 million.
When the trade is completed, the Bills will be in possession of the following draft picks for 2024 and 2025:
2024
- Round 1, Pick 28
- Round 2, Pick 60
- Round 4, Pick 128
- Round 4, Pick 133 (compensatory)
- Round 5, Pick 144 (from CHI)
- Round 5, Pick 160 (from GB)
- Round 5, Pick 163
- Round 6, Pick 200 (from HOU)
- Round 6, Pick 204
- Round 7, Pick 248
2025
- Bills 1st
- Bills 2nd
- Vikings 2nd
- Bills 3rd
- Bills 4th
- Bills 6th
- Giants 6th
In his four seasons in Buffalo following a trade from the Minnesota Vikings, Diggs was a four-time Pro Bowler and one-time first-team All-Pro, and he finished each year with at least 100 receptions and over 1,100 yards.
Diggs recorded 107 catches for 1,183 yards and eight touchdowns, representing his lowest yardage total and tying his lowest touchdown total as a Bill.
While Diggs was on pace for another huge statistical season in the first half of 2023, he slowed down considerably over the final eight games, registering just 37 receptions for 349 yards and one touchdown during that stretch.
That coupled with Diggs' penchant for cryptic posts on X led to speculation that the Bills could look to move on, and they made it a reality Wednesday.
Although Diggs wasn't himself in the second half of last year and it could be argued that he is on the decline, his departure still leaves the Bills with a massive hole in their receiving corps.
The top wideouts on Buffalo's roster are currently free-agent signing Curtis Samuel, 2022 fifth-round pick Khalil Shakir and another veteran free-agent signing in Mack Hollins.
Samuel had his best NFL season in 2020 with the Carolina Panthers under current Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady, totaling 1,051 yards from scrimmage and five touchdowns.
Shakir emerged in his second season in 2023, reeling in 39 passes for 611 yards and two scores, and during the playoffs, he was tops among Bills wideouts in catches (10), receiving yards (75) and touchdowns (two).
Even so, neither Samuel nor Shakir is a true WR1, but the Bills still have plenty of capital to get one.
Assuming the Vikings' 2025 second-round pick is an early one, it makes it more palatable for the Bills to trade their 2025 first-round pick, potentially in a trade-up scenario in the 2024 draft.
Buffalo owns the No. 28 overall pick in the 2024 draft, so it could package that, a 2025 first and perhaps a bit more draft compensation to move up for one of the top wideouts in a loaded wide receiver class such as Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr., LSU's Malik Nabers or Washington's Rome Odunze.
The Bills could also look to trade for an already-established NFL receiver. It has been rumored and speculated that Brandon Aiyuk of the San Francisco 49ers and Tee Higgins of the Cincinnati Bengals could be available this offseason.