Bills Insiders Dish on Stefon Diggs: 'The Offense Didn't Need Him Anymore'

A source with the Buffalo Bills told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler that wide receiver Stefon Diggs was traded ahead of the 2024 season in part because his contributions weren't as crucial to the team's success amid a shift in the offense's overall philosophy.

"Tremendous player," the team source told Fowler. "But the offense didn't need him anymore."

Fowler's report comes ahead of the Week 5 matchup between the Bills and Houston Texans, which will make Diggs' first time facing his former team since he was traded in April.

The deal came just months after Diggs completed the 2024 season as Buffalo's receiving leader with 107 catches for 1,183 yards and eight touchdowns.

A source told Fowler the team's attitude toward Diggs changed around the time head coach Sean McDermott fired offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey and promoted quarterbacks coach Joe Brady following the Bills' 5-5 start to the 2023 season.

Brady leaned more and more on the Bills' run game in succeeding games, and his reliance on the team's running backs led to Buffalo recording a season-high 266 rushing yards in a Week 15 win over the Dallas Cowboys.

According to Fowler, one source "who was on the scene that night" said the win over the Cowboys changed his perception of Diggs' role on the team.

"Team sources say the run-oriented attack wasn't about Diggs, but more about maximizing the overall personnel, involving several pass-catching options and setting more of a physical tone," Fowler wrote. "But it signified a page-turn in philosophy and preference."

According to the source, per Fowler: "For a while it was, 'No way we can play without this dude.' But I thought to myself, 'Oh, maybe we can do this without him.'"

Diggs addressed his offseason departure from the Bills in a recent interview with GQ's Clay Skipper, in which he said the 2023 season was "the worst mental space I've been in since I've been in the league."

The wideout told Skipper his role had changed in the last ten games after Brady had taken over as OC.

"Of course there's plenty of plays I want back. But there's a lot of plays that didn't go my way. I need a lot of things to go right to get the ball…. You tell me about the last 10. What changed? Were there changes going on?" Diggs asked Skipper. "I just pay attention to what really happened and not what people try to act like happened.

"Like, for the last 10 games, I forgot how to f--king play football?"

Diggs at times appeared to publicly express that frustration while in Buffalo, where one team source told Fowler that the receiver's attitude had a negative impact on the team.

"You always have to worry about how he feels. That wears on a locker room," the source told Fowler.

The Texans have leaned on Nico Collins as their top receiver through four games. Behind him, Diggs has made 33 catches for 233 yards and two receiving touchdowns through Week 4 in Houston.

The Bills are off to a 3-1 start to the 2024 season. Their lone loss, a Week 4 contest against the Baltimore Ravens, coincided with their lone game recording fewer than 100 rushing yards.

Buffalo will look to revive its run game once more on Sunday as they prepare to reunite with Diggs in Houston.