Sadly Done, Texans $500,398.7 WR Unexpectedly Traded By Bills…

One of the most impactful moves of the offseason for both the Bills and Texans was the trade which sent Stefon Diggs from Buffalo to Houston. The deal came about in short order with the Pro Bowl wideout’s former team originally expecting to keep him for at least the 2024 campaign.

Diggs himself seems to have had a different outlook on that front, however. When speaking to the media for the first time as a member of the Texans, he addressed the end of his Bills tenure. The 30-year-old said of a trade, via ESPN’s DJ Bien-Aime, that he felt “it was going in that direction.”

Tension (real or perceived) between team and player was a regular occurrence in the case of Diggs’ four-year run in Buffalo. He still managed to enjoy plenty of success there with 5,372 yards and 37 touchdowns, production which led to four straight Pro Bowl invites and a first-team All-Pro nod in 2020. Once the Texans presented a trade package involving a 2025 second-round pick, though, the Bills elected to move on.

In doing so, Buffalo incurred a dead cap charge of just over $31MM. General manager Brandon Beane has since confirmed the team’s preference was to absorb that record-breaking amount (for receivers) all at once rather than spreading it out over multiple years. While that approach will create considerable spending power in 2025, questions have been raised about the Bills’ receiver room this year.

By contrast, the Texans have added Diggs to a unit already featuring Tank Dell – who had a strong rookie campaign when healthy last season – and Nico Collins. The latter had a breakout season in 2023, and it earned him a lucrative extension. Diggs was attached to a big-ticket deal of his own, but Houston agreed to remove the post-2024 years of his contract. The former fifth-rounder is thus on track for free agency next offseason, and much of his value will depend on his ability to fit in well with his new team. Diggs’ remarks in that regard have been encouraging early on.

On second thought, the Houston Texans don’t need Xavien Howard

The Houston Texans could use a little more depth at cornerback if we’re being honest. Desmond King and Myles Bryant are good additions, but not great. There’s Jeff Okudah, a project signing if we’ve ever seen one, and of course the addition of rookie Kamari Lassiter, who is a relatively unknown commodity. We have no idea if these new additions will be good for the team, we have to find out.

So wanting a more proven veteran to pair with Derek Stingley isn’t the worst idea, it’s why we suggested the Texans sign Xavien Howard. The Houston native is a former All-Pro with the Miami Dolphins and had a lot of potential in pairing with someone like Stingley. He seemed like a viable option and one we were really intrigued by.

That was, until news came about him. Early June would see some pretty wild accusations come out about Howard. According to ESPN and other outlets, Howard sent a sexually explicit image to a teen boy, with ESPN further going on to say;

The accusations are bad, and while they remain only such for the moment, it’s hard to get past them when talking about players to add to the team this season. There’s no reason to put yourself in the center of a brewing controversy if you’re the Texans.

Howard is now in the middle of a very ugly lawsuit, and one that would only pull focus from the Houston Texans 2024 season. This is a young team, and they don’t need a massive distraction hanging over their heads.

Howard will have his day in court and depending on how that plays out will likely determine if he has a future career in the NFL. The Texans don’t need to interject themselves in this situation by signing him.