How the Buffalo Bills’ trade for Stefon Diggs came together

The Buffalo Bills woke up late last night, reportedly executing their first three moves of the new league year after many fans had gone to bed. With apologies to linebacker A.J. Klein and defensive end Mario Addison, whom the Bills reportedly agreed to sign, the biggest move was a trade that gave the Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs.

According to The MMQB’s Albert Breer, Buffalo and the Minnesota Vikings worked on the trade fairly quickly yesterday. The Bills initially called Minnesota during the late afternoon, but nothing was imminent. Then, things “heated up” around 9:45. The deal was agreed upon within the half-hour.

Perhaps the most interesting part of Breer’s information was the other teams involved in talks to acquire Diggs. While Washington was a suitor, they had some obvious issues regarding their ability to provide draft pick compensation—Washington holds the No. 2 overall choice in the 2020 NFL Draft, which they obviously weren’t going to trade for Diggs, and they don’t have a selection in Round Two. That made a trade with Washington nearly impossible.

The other squad looking to acquire Diggs? None other than the New England Patriots, who perhaps were looking for a big-time target to entice a certain veteran quarterback to return. Breer reported that the Patriots were also in on DeAndre Hopkins, who was traded to the Arizona Cardinals earlier in the day for some change found between the couch cushions and a mid-nineties model Cadillac.

According to Breer, Buffalo had called Minnesota about Diggs as early as this past fall, with the talks going nowhere. Half a year later, the Bills were able to acquire their WR1 for quarterback Josh Allen.

Previous coverage:

• Bills trade first-round pick for WR Stefon Diggs
• How the trade for Diggs came together
• Q&A: Bills add Stefon Diggs as part of new agreements
• Initial reaction to Stefon Diggs trade from Nick & Nolan
• Vikings fans react to Stefon Diggs trade
• What does the trade mean for Josh Allen?
• Contract details for Stefon Diggs
• All-22 Highlights showing Stefon Diggs’s skill set
• Bills, Vikings may have coronavirus contingencies built into trade