I love how valuable a 2nd round pick all of a sudden is but when you break it down to what it really is it's not really all bad. The first round pick that got us the 2nd was a 1/3 of the first round picks we got for watson. Dissecting that further, this 2nd round pick was half the 2nd round picks we got for that 1st. Lastly if he doesn't perform well, we will all be glad he is gone and if he performs well then there is no guarantee he won't resign. Just enjoy this season and stop letting the what ifs of the future ruin a great get.
This has the earmarks of appeasing a two year old. Let him touch that hot stove if he insists? Just to make him happy for a moment?
At first, I would have done a 2 year deal with him instead. I don't know if it would be on the table.... just would have fully guaranteed a second season to ensure not a rental. I doubt diggs would have approved pushing free agency out one more year after seeing the Mike Evans deal. Also possible you get tantrums and would eat into cap space. After thinking through, the 1 year deal for flexibility makes more sense for everyone. It would be different calculus if he was a guy willing to play on a non-guaranteed deal after a year.
I like the one-year deal, it's good for us and good for Diggs. He can prove he still has tread on the tires and isn't the "bad" dude. It seems like it gets toxic year 2-3 so I look at him as a hired gun for the year and we get a hell of a WR. If Nico lives up to last year he gets paid and we draft a WR this year or next and the cycle of a high priced player on a short term with big money while grooming a replacement to get a few years of cheap labor.........rinse and repeat
I was a little concerned with the contract actually. 20Ms for a guy who had a very pedestrian last 10 games of the season. All signs were pointing to him losing a step and age starting to creep into the equation. This allows him to ball out and earn another big pay day. Having a locked in Diggs is the best thing this team could hope for and if the guy HAS lost a step then we dont have money tied up beyond this season. It was a good move for both sides.
My initial fan take was why void the contract because you can still tell him that you'll reassess his contract after 2024, but this might have been part of the negotiation with Diggs camp. From a risk mitigation perspective, Nick has basically cleaned the deck and can negotiate with Diggs agent after they see how he fits. If it doesn't work, he's preserved the cap space. If it does work, maybe he pays a bit more in the early years, but has the salary declining to cover CJ in a few years. With that said, I'm going to focus on this year and pray it all comes together in a VERY BIG WAY!
With the one year deal, has me thinking if there is one of those WR's, say Keon Coleman available in the 2nd, taking him is still on the table.
After processing it, I think it was actually very smart. diggs has all the talent in the world. The only question mark was the mental side… what this does is both put pressure on him to preform/behave as he is a FA after this year and it gives a mental health boost the team voiding his unguaranteed years… with a player lke digs having three years unguaranteed isn’t leverage. Its a negative because he’s gonna sit Out and be disgruntled because he has that star complex. The Texans avoided that altogether on the front end, and should get the best possible performance barring injury out of him. He’ll probably have the best year of his life and we can either resign and pay him or we can let him go, pay Nico and draft somebody. So it gives us options, but it allows us to take a real shot at a Super Bowl in our rookie quarterback, second year…can’t be upset at that at all. With how we’ve handled him, and if he has an amazing season, I think the ball is definitely in our court on a reign before he hits free agency. I think Caserio has earned our trust at this point.
Waaaaaay to early to start panicking about Nico now. Actually, if you think about it, Diggs may actually help Nico get that long term extension sooner since those last 3 years on his deal were voided. Negotiations are there for the reason you're franticly speculating for both sides on. Again, these guys are building trust in their players and it sounds like they're ready to create space through different avenues in terms of salary in order to allow them to keep their top guys. We haven't really gotten to those re-signings yet because our draftees are still so young but let's not get too ahead of ourselves and panic on how we're gonna lose Diggs AND Nico all before the 2025 season even begins.
With this move, I'm not sure about a WR early. Atleast not until the 3rd or 4th. Why would we draft a WR high to be 4th/5th on the depth chart? I think they really like they guy out of UCF, Javon Baker? He could be the one that is available late. There are obviously much higher needs like CB2, DT, SLB and possibly Safety.
https://www.si.com/nfl/2024/04/05/stefon-diggs-trade-impact-bills-texans • The concern if you’re the Houston Texans in this case would be what version of Diggs you’re getting and, to be sure, the drama that’s surrounded the star receiver was a factor in the decision to move him for Buffalo. But the context Houston lands him in is different than it’d have been if the Bills had held on to him. Simply, it’s a fresh start for Diggs, and a chance to come out with something to prove, and it plays, to a degree, back to a piece of Houston GM Nick Caserio’s own football history. Caserio was the Patriots’ receivers coach in 2007, when New England swung a fourth-round pick to the Raiders to land a similarly questioned star 30-year-old receiver. On Caserio’s watch, Randy Moss, motivated by being discarded, did produce perhaps the greatest season as a receiver has ever had with 23 touchdowns. Seventeen years later, Caserio is affording Diggs the chance to gain a similar level of redemption in an environment that, while it’s not what New England was then, is getting really good with the potential to be better. Diggs will play alongside Tank Dell, Nico Collins and Dalton Schultz, and with C.J. Stroud pulling the trigger behind an accomplished, veteran line. He’ll also be playing his home games inside again, after doing so over his first four NFL seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. So I wouldn’t bet against the ultra-competitive Diggs having a kind of year in Houston that might not have happened had he stayed with the Bills. And by the way, this is a really good job by Caserio of leveraging the rookie-contract QB edge the Texans have for the next couple years, alongside the signings of Danielle Hunter, Azeez Al-Shaair and Denico Autry, and the trade for Joe Mixon in March—even if Diggs might only be around for a single year. • On that end, I do have some reservations about the Texans doing the contract adjustment with Diggs, guaranteeing him more than $22 million for 2024, and his freedom in ‘25. Remember, when you’re trading for a player, it’s not just the player you get, it’s the contract, and Diggs had four years left on his. So in this case, giving up a 2025 second-round pick, even with the fifth- and sixth-rounders coming back, is steep for one year of Diggs, because that second-rounder comes on a very affordable contract for four years. But, again, for where the Texans are right now, it makes sense. If you combine this trade with the Vikings trade from March, the Texans moved down 19 spots in this year’s draft, from No. 23 to No. 42 (which, per the Jimmy Johnson draft chart, is equal to trading away the 63rd pick) in order to get that year of Diggs, move a seventh-rounder into the sixth round (232nd to 188th), and land a 2024 sixth and a ‘25 fifth. Which is good value.
Yea, not sure I totally understand the restructuring, but if I have learned one single thing this offseason, its that Nick Caserio will shut me up. Also, it's funny how this was widely regarded as a fleece job by Caserio similar to the Cards getting Dhop, but as soon as we drop the contract then its a terrible trade haha. Not saying you said that, just that its a funny table turn. I think this does a lot to help with that locker room concern, and I honestly don't think it would have worked out if he outplayed the contract and we tried to hold him to it. Bottom line, I just trust Caserio from here on out until he REALLY forces otherwise.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was a "fleece job" by Caserio and now its suddenly such a valuable pick... Also, I think the 6th rounder this year is pretty valuable. with all the QBs and WR's in this deep class, there is gonna be some gems in the 5th/6th and I am willing to bet Caserio uses some of those picks to get into the 3rd or 4th and get some real value. It wasnt just Diggs for a 2nd. It was Diggs AND a 5th and 6th for one of our 2 2nds, so we still have one, NEXT YEAR.. This is still a steal.
I absolutely see that viewpoint about him being on his best behavior because of the contract. But I can also see him being diva-ish if he’s not getting his numbers in a contract year. It’s a double edged sword I think. And if he’s getting the lions share, I think it hurts our offense and development of Nico and Tank. Ultimately I think we could have an all time offense if everyone (mainly Diggs) buys in. I’m excited
One aspect I haven’t seen discussed is that our WR talent possibly canceling each other out next season could make one, or each, of Nico/Stefon more affordable in FA next offseason
Absolutely, but could also make them want to find a place where they can get more touches. More touches=more money
