Four Years after Stefon Diggs Was Traded by the Vikings, the WR is up to His Old Antics

Jan 23, 2022; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs (14) celebrates with running back Devin Singletary (26) after scoring at two point conversion against the Kansas City Chiefs during the second half in an AFC Divisional playoff football game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

On March 16th, 2020, the Minnesota Vikings shipped away WR Stefon Diggs to the Buffalo Bills.

In exchange for Diggs and a 2020 seventh-round pick, the Vikings received four draft picks. Most notable of those was Buffalo’s 2020 first-rounder, which just so happened to turn into Minnesota’s opportunity to select Justin Jefferson with the 22nd overall pick a little more than a month later.

Now, four years after the trade took place, Diggs is up to his old antics again.

Stefon Diggs is at it Again

Stefon Diggs
Nov 13, 2022; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs warms up before a game against the Minnesota Vikings at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

For some time, there have been rumors that Diggs may be ready to move on from Buffalo. The four-time Pro Bowler only added fuel to that fire with his social media posts over the past couple days. On Friday, Diggs tweeted, “Ready for whatever.” The receiver then followed that up by tweeting, “Well…” on Saturday afternoon.

Vikings fans will remember that Diggs pulled similar moves before his trade out of Minnesota, and this past season, he was a hold out during mandatory minicamp, and head coach Sean McDermott said it was a situation that made him “very concerned.”

In all, though, the Diggs trade will go down as one of the few trades in NFL history that were a “win-win” for both teams involved. The Buffalo Bills got a star receiver who immediately helped raise Josh Allen’s floor as QB to become one of the better players in the entire NFL.

NFL: Pro Bowl-AFC at NFC
Feb 5, 2023; Paradise, Nevada, USA; AFC receiver Stefon Diggs of the Buffalo Bills (14) participates in the Best Catch event during the Pro Bowl Games at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Diggs has made the Pro Bowl in each of his four seasons with the Bills and was named a first-team All Pro during 2020. In total, he has caught 445 passes for 5372 yards and 37 touchdowns in a Bills uniform, and Buffalo is yet to miss the playoffs with him on the team.

Meanwhile, the Vikings were able to land Jefferson, who has enjoyed one of the best starts to a career that we’ve ever seen from an NFL receiver. Jefferson has caught 392 passes for 5899 yards and 30 touchdowns. Remarkably, he’s done all this despite only playing 60 total games and starting just 57 of them as he began his career behind Olabisi Johnson on the depth chart and missed seven games this past year due to injury.

Already, Jefferson ranks 10th in receptions, 8th in receiving yards, and tied for 9th in touchdowns (ironically, alongside Diggs) in Vikings history. With his huge numbers through four seasons, the Vikings are expected to hand him a truly historic contract later this offseason.

Dec 24, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson (18) celebrates his touchdown against the Detroit Lions during the second quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

For now, Diggs remains in Buffalo as part of that trade, but perhaps we could see another move in the future that moves the 30-year-old receiver to his third NFL team. Would that trade result in another win-win for both teams?


Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Reference.

Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.

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