The Stefon Diggs saga continues. Despite Diggs now having played a full season for the Bills and the Vikings having found Justin Jefferson, more news and insights continue to come out from the blockbuster trade that landed Diggs in Buffalo.
The latest of which came from the Bills GM Brandon Beane, speaking on the The Cris Collinsworth Podcast featuring Richard Sherman (H/T Adam Patrick of the Viking Age). The Bills first inquired about trading for Diggs much sooner than the offseason of 2020. Here’s what Beane said:
“That actually started in the middle of the 2019 season,” Beane said. “Going into that year, we added Cole Beasley and John Brown and we had some early success, but I felt like people were starting to figure out how to play us a little bit. We still needed another weapon for Josh (Allen) to throw to.”
Beane went on to say that Buffalo was looking at multiple receivers before the trade deadline of that year, but none of them worked out for whatever reason.
“With Diggs, we did a lot of recon just in case Minnesota was willing to part ways with him, but they were in the middle of a playoff run themselves and were not willing to part ways,” Beane said.
Of course, Buffalo got its wide receiver one after the 2019 season and the rest is history.
Look, I get it. Some Vikings fans will be frustrated with still having to hear about Diggs — a once-beloved Vikings wide receiver — especially considering the team drafted a great replacement in Jefferson. But it’s still interesting to look back on a big turning point for both Buffalo and Minnesota.