Diggs traded to Houston!

Good deal for the Bills, they got a good return on an aging unhappy WR.. surprised they didn't get rid of him before last season.

huge cap hit indeed.
but the $31m in dead cap was money previously paid out, last year
the Bills will save approx $18m this year, and if Diggs played out his deal, that would be anothe $60m over 3 years. so total Bills cash not spent is $78m.
I believe moving on from Diggs was a football decision. the dead cap an inconvenience, but a small one looking at the bigger picture.  

what on earth are you talking about? do you even know?

You're proving my point.

year 3 Elway's rating was lower than year two,  2nd worse of his career.

Maybe Shanny trying to say Elway wasn't that good.... it was all because of coaching they won their SB's.  LOL!!

Elways efficiency was the worst of his career his first three years… shocking. He improved mightily from his rookie year… it’s not proving anything. In year 4 Elway was in the pro bowl.

If you’re trying to bolster Rkarp’s assertion that QB’s arrive in the NFL as finished products and don’t improve… I’d suggest you go another direction. You don’t want to die on that hill with Karpy.

Also suggesting this is a good deal for the Bills is laughable… they had to get a cancer out of their locker room and ate a massive dead cap to do so.

Without an amazing draft the Bills window is closing, and they were the AFC favorites the last three seasons. Diggs didn’t put them over the top… the superweapon theory fails yet again.

Y'all might recall that the Patriots traded Randy Moss to Minnesota. How did that turn out for Tom Brady and the team? Their offense actually improved. Why? Because Tom was no longer saddled with having to force the ball so many times per game to Moss to keep Randy happy and engaged. Instead, Tom was free to do what he did best - spread the ball around to whomever was open.

Here's an article on the Diggs trade from "The Ringer":

The Diggs trade won’t help Buffalo improve the roster immediately. This isn’t similar to when the Chiefs traded away Tyreek Hill in 2022 for a premium package of picks, which Kansas City used to build a top defense. The Bills actually lost cap space in the move due to the big dead cap number, and they got a second-rounder in next year’s draft in the deal. This team is up against the cap and short on premium picks. Beane would have to pull off a minor miracle for the Bills to field a comparable receiving corps to the flawed one they had in 2023.

Therefore, the burden on Allen this season will likely be even heavier than it was in 2023, when he dragged the Bills to the playoffs. Last year, that level of difficulty brought out some of the best play we’ve seen from Allen: He finished fifth in total expected points added among quarterbacks and scored 44 total touchdowns. He had a strong argument to be the NFL MVP. But it also brought out some of his worst tendencies. Allen threw 18 interceptions, trailing only Sam Howell for the league lead, and some of those mistakes lost Buffalo games. This was following an offseason in which Bills coach Sean McDermott publicly challenged Allen to play a less reckless brand of football.

“I don’t think that that’s a healthy way to play quarterback in this league,” McDermott said in March last year. “It’s really undefeated that things are going to happen when you play that style, that brand of football. So, we’ve got to get that adjusted. It’s never going to go completely away, but it has to get to where it’s workable. ... I don’t want to take his personality away from him as far as that goes, his signature. But there needs to be an adjustment in that style of play.”

There was no such adjustment. But that doesn’t solely fall on Allen, who had no choice but to lean into the bit. The Bills didn’t provide him with the infrastructure to play the kind of game McDermott wants out of his quarterback—not if Buffalo wanted to keep winning games. And getting back to a winning way was the aim when McDermott replaced offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey with Joe Brady last November. Brady called more runs on early downs, and Allen cut down on turnovers. But while that did lead to victories, Buffalo’s offensive efficiency went down, and Allen would still routinely go into hero mode. Without Diggs on the field, it might be even harder for Allen to fight his playmaking instincts—and harder for him to make the changes his coach wants.

McDermott’s criticism of Allen’s play style isn’t totally wrong. This isn’t a sustainable method. The only past comparable situation—with a quarterback taking on this much physical strain for the sake of the offense—was Cam Newton in Carolina. The Panthers cut Newton’s outspoken, veteran WR1 (Steve Smith) and eventually replaced him with a receiver they drafted with the 28th pick (future Bill Kelvin Benjamin). The offense was built entirely around Newton. He wasn’t just the quarterback, but also the focal point of the run game. That took a toll on his body, which eventually broke down. Newton injured his shoulder in 2016 and lost the arm strength that made him a special passer, and that was that. McDermott and Beane both worked in Carolina for most of Newton’s tenure, so they’ve seen this movie before. Let’s hope they’re not in preproduction for the remake.

The concern here isn’t so much that Allen’s career will be derailed by injuries, but rather that he won’t be given a fair chance at developing into a quarterback with a more sustainable approach—in the same way that Patrick Mahomes has evolved over the past two years. Sure, Mahomes did so after the Chiefs traded away his top wideout, but (1) he might be the greatest quarterback of all time and shouldn’t be the point of comparison for anyone, and (2) he had the greatest offensive mind of our time helping him out. The list of other quarterbacks who have made that leap without a good supporting cast around them is short, if it even exists.

Allen has already defied the odds once. We’ve never seen a young quarterback develop the way he did after coming into the league as a ridiculously raw prospect who couldn’t win or put up good stats in the Mountain West Conference. If Mahomes is the most talented quarterback I’ve ever seen, Allen isn’t far behind. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s right back in the MVP conversation next year and the Bills are still pushing for the top spot in the AFC. But the alternate reality—in which this burden grows too heavy and his play regresses—feels just as likely.

All this pessimism could be washed away with a blockbuster trade or a little luck in the draft. There’s always an exit up ahead in the NFL. But the Bills will have to find it before they push Allen too hard and their franchise passer loses his way.

QUERY: Just as Brady's offense improved without Moss, can Allen and his offense improve without Diggs?

Here's what was said by ESPN after the Moss trade on October 6, 2010: 

Randy Moss's improbable return to Minnesota has become reality.

The Patriots have completed a blockbuster trade sending the Pro Bowl wide receiver to the Vikings.

The Vikings will send a third-round 2011 draft pick to the Patriots in return for Moss and New England's seventh-round draft pick in 2012, a league source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter on Wednesday.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick said he was "grateful" for the opportunity to coach Moss and wished him the best "for the remainder of his Hall of Fame career.

"Over the course of the past several months, I have spoken with Randy and his representative about Randy's place on our team and his future in football," Belichick said in a news release announcing the trade.

"While I will keep private the details of internal conversations with players and staff, suffice it to say that many things were taken into consideration before making the trade," Belichick said. "In this business, there are complex and often difficult decisions, but it is my responsibility to make them based on what I feel is best for our football team, in both the short term and long term."

Vikings coach Brad Childress was expected to discuss the trade at a news conference at 3:30 p.m. ET.

The Patriots now have two picks in each of the first four rounds of the 2011 draft -- their own picks and a first-round pick from Oakland (Richard Seymour trade), a second-round pick from Carolina, the third-round pick from Minnesota and a fourth-rounder from Denver.

A source close to Moss told ESPN NFL senior analyst Chris Mortensen that Belichick informed Moss of the trade on Wednesday morning by telephone. The source said the conversation was cordial, with both men expressing appreciation for the time they spent together.

Moss will report to the Vikings on Wednesday and is said to be "excited" about returning to his original team with Brett Favre at quarterback, the source said. No contract extension talks have been conducted, but it is expected the two sides will have a discussion later in the day, the source said.

The seven-time Pro Bowl receiver is in the final year of his four-year contract with New England and has voiced his displeasure with being in limbo.

"When you have done so much and put so much work in, it kind of feels like I am not wanted," Moss said before the season began on Sept. 6. "I am taking that in stride and playing my final year out and whatever the future holds is what it holds, but it is kind of a bad feeling -- feeling not wanted. It is not like my production has gone down."

Moss made similar comments during a press conference following the Patriots' season-opening victory over the Bengals. The next day, he apologized for the timing of his remarks and said he loves playing in New England.

But the Boston Herald, citing an unnamed source, reported on Tuesday that Moss wanted out of New England after a Week 1 win on Sept. 12, telling his agent to ask the Patriots to trade him.

Although the Patriots crushed the Dolphins on Monday night, Moss did not have a catch -- the first time that's happened for him in a New England uniform.

Moss and Belichick did not speak or even see each other on Tuesday, a league source told Schefter.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has been an unabashed fan of Moss since the receiver arrived in New England prior to the 2007 season. The two hooked up for 23 of Brady's record 50 touchdown passes that season. Last season, Brady came to Moss' defense when a Panthers defensive back questioned Moss' effort. And after Moss said he didn't feel wanted by the Patriots a few weeks ago, Brady again came out strong in support of Moss.

"Randy is important, was important, will be important, especially from my standpoint as a quarterback," Brady said during an interview on Boston sports radio station WEEI. "I love Randy and I'd love to play with him for a long time."

Randy Moss had 259 catches and 50 touchdowns in his 52 games with the Patriots. 

Moss, 33, has only nine catches for 139 yards and three TDs through four games this season. That comes after hauling in 83 passes for 1,264 yards and 13 touchdowns last season. His career year came in his first with the Pats, when he caught 98 passes for 1,493 yards and 23 TDs, an NFL record.

The Vikings have been looking for help at receiver for Favre, but they were unable to work out a deal for the Chargers' Vincent Jackson.

Pro Bowl receiver Sidney Rice is sidelined for at least the first six weeks of the season because of a hip injury and Percy Harvin has struggled all season with migraine headaches.

Without the deep threat that he had in Rice, Favre's production has dropped dramatically. The Vikings have lost two of their first three games and their receiving group lacks the prototypical big-play receiver who can outjump smaller cornerbacks for passes down the field.

That's Moss in a nutshell.

Moss immediately energized a lagging Vikings franchise when he was chosen in the first round in 1998. He averaged 19.0 yards per catch and hauled in 17 TDs as a rookie to help the team reach the NFC title game. His first season coincided with a string of sellouts at the drab Metrodome that remains going to this day.

The move will no doubt delight Favre, who will turn 41 later this month. He openly campaigned for the Packers to acquire Moss toward the end of his time in Green Bay. But the Patriots ultimately ended up parting with just a fourth-round pick to pry Moss away from the Raiders, and Favre privately fumed at the swing and miss by the Green Bay front office.

Favre was traded to the Jets a year later and signed a two-year deal with the Vikings last season.

The Vikings made room for Moss on their roster by trading defensive end Jayme Mitchell to the Cleveland Browns for an undisclosed 2012 draft pick. The teams agreed in principle to the deal Tuesday, but didn't formally announce it until Mitchell passed his physical Wednesday.

And drafted Ryan "The hammer" Mallett with that 3rd round pick acquired from Minny in the Moss trade.

3rd year?? say again?

Diggs had a 4/$75m contract Tuesday
Diggs has a 1/$22.5m contract on Thursday

the cap is really, really crap

The post literally right before this one you say “Diggs deal not 1/22.5m .”

Are you ok? You're not usually all over the place like that.

The Bills have 31 million in dead cap because of the trade. I bet they’d beg to differ regarding your opinion on the cap right now.

I didn’t mention BB sucking.

Not sure what you're trying to say here?

Lawrence and Minshew both got progressively better after their rookie season.