While the Bills surprised most of the NFL world on Wednesday by trading receiver Stefon Diggs to the Texans, Buffalo General Manager Brandon Beane noted there was at least one player who shouldn’t have been shocked by the turn of events:
Quarterback Josh Allen.
While Beane said during his Wednesday press conference that he hadn’t spoken to Allen since the trade was finalized, the G.M. had given his quarterback a heads up that Diggs could get moved.
“I did alert [Allen] that there had been some inquiries and it wasn’t 100 percent off the table,” Beane said, via the team’s website. “Josh and I have a pretty regular conversation on things and I think it’s important for me to make sure if I think something could happen to make sure he’s not blindsided,”
Beane added that he plans to touch base with Allen soon.
The Bills will have some work to do at receiver to replace Diggs’ production, as he caught at least 103 passes for at least 1,100 yards with at least eight touchdowns in each of his four seasons with the club.
“They’ve been a really good duo,” Beane said of Diggs and Allen. “I don’t think Stef made All-Pro before he got here, and he made multiple and some Pro Bowls in there too. And, Josh ramped up as well. So I do think when they were clicking, the games they were clicking or the seasons they were really clicking. You could say they were probably up there with most any quarterback-receiver.”
Allen and Diggs both made their first Pro Bowl in the receiver’s first season with the team, 2020. Diggs was a first-team All-Pro selection that season after leading the league in catches (127) and yards (1,535). It was Allen’s first and only second-team All-Pro selection as well.
Diggs was a Pro Bowler for all four of his seasons with Buffalo, also making second-team All-Pro in 2022. Allen was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2022 as well.
