The Bills’ biggest move of free agency had more to do with everything but the open market. According to the MMQB’s Albert Breer, it even had more to do with Twitter than anything else.
We’re now a week removed from the trade which went down on the evening of March 16. Whether it was because of the advice of his representatives or just a decision made by Stefon Diggs himself, it worked.
Earlier in the day on March 16, the Minnesota Vikings gave quarterback Kirk Cousins an extension. Diggs’ issues with the Vikings off the field were known, and much speculation insists it involved a bad vibe with Cousins. After that deal with the QB was announced, Diggs took to his social media page on Twitter and sent a message stating: “it’s time for a new beginning”:
it’s time for a new beginning.
— DIGGS (@stefondiggs) March 16, 2020
Per Breer’s report, after that tweet was sent, the phone of Rick Spielman, the Vikings general manager, started ringing:
Diggs’s tweet on Monday, believe it or not, actually did spark talks. The receiver posted at 2:46 p.m. ET, in the wake of the Kirk Cousins extension: “It’s time for a new beginning.” The cryptic message led to a handful of teams calling Minnesota.
The report also says the Bills were very much interested in previously adding Diggs at the 2019 trade deadline, but the asking price was too high, two first-round picks even. The Bills eventually did part with a first, but only one, along with a fifth, sixth and future fourth rounder. Perhaps because it was now the offseason, the Vikings lowered the asking price, and with the help of a tweet, evidently, Bills general manager Brandon Beane pulled off the deal.
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