As NFL teams made deals during the first day of the NFL’s legal tampering period Monday, Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane stayed active behind the scenes trading for the Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs.
A little before 11 p.m. ET Monday night Bean agreed to a to send the Bills’ first-round pick, a fifth-round pick and a sixth-round pick in 2020 and their fourth-round pick in 2021 to the Vikings for wide receiver Diggs and a 2020 seventh-round pick. Beane was able to hold onto his promise about upgrading the wideout position at the end of last season during an end-of-season news conference without spending too much money.
“We’re not gonna go in and just throw a bunch of money at receivers or anything like that, but we’ll try to find [players],” he said in January. “I don’t think we’re one player away. I never think you are, and I definitely don’t think we’re one player away. You lose the first round of the playoffs that doesn’t say to me that the Bills are one player away from being exactly where they want to be. But that’s definitely a position that we’re gonna look to see if we can find more talent.”
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The 26-year-old is worth the price tag. He is coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and is seemingly just entering his prime. In 2018 the wideout had a career-high 102 receptions ad nine touchdowns, and this past season he notched career-marks of 1,130 yards receiving and 17.9 yards per reception. Not only is Diggs young and among the most talented receivers in the game, but he’s also under a long-term contract. He signed a five-year, $72 million contract last offseason and will now be under the Bills’ control until the 2023 season. His cap numbers are also pretty manageable as they don’t exceed $12 million in any of the upcoming years.
