The Buffalo Bills are preparing to face the Houston Texans in Week 5 on Sunday.
The Bills will have their hands full with a budding Texans team. They have a young up-and-coming quarterback in CJ Stroud, a rock-solid defense, and a plethora of weapons on offense to be wary of.
One of those weapons is Stefon Diggs, who is preparing to face the Bills for the first time since he was traded from Buffalo to Houston in April. He was traded along with a couple of late picks for a 2025 second-round draft pick.
Diggs spent four seasons in Buffalo from 2020-2023, and they were the best seasons of his career. In his first year with the Bills in 2020, he took the league by storm. That year, he led the league in both receptions (127) and receiving yards (1,535). He was named First Team All-Pro that year, and he made the Pro Bowl each year he was in Buffalo.
Members of the Bills sounded appreciative of the time they spent with Diggs when asked about it this week. And, Diggs showed love for his former squad and his time in Buffalo as well:
“We had some good years and some real good runs,” Diggs said this week. “Played at a very high level and built a bond with a good group of guys. It’s something I’ll never forget.”
Bills head coach Sean McDermott and Diggs butted heads at times over the last few years. McDermott was quoted as saying he was “very concerned” when Diggs didn’t show for minicamp during the 2023 offseason. But, this week, McDermott chose to remember the good times and praised Diggs for his level of play:
“We’ll have our work cut out for us,” McDermott said via press conference. “Stef is playing at a high level. He was a really good player here as you guys know and he’s competitive. We respect Stef. We love Stef.”
The love-fest continued when quarterback Josh Allen spoke to the media. The Buffalo signal caller says he appreciates what Diggs did for him early in his career.
“I got a lot of love for him and I still do,” Allen said. “The things he did for me and my career and the things he did in a Buffalo Bill uniform won’t be forgotten anytime soon, especially from me.”
Through four games with the Texans, Diggs has amassed 25 catches for 233 yards and three total touchdowns. He’s shown he has more left in the tank and he fits in perfectly to form a dangerous attack in Houston’s offense.
So, the Bills aren’t very concerned with the idea of facing an old friend. What they are concerned with is preventing him and the Texans offense from getting rolling.
Bills nickel cornerback Taron Johnson is on pace to make his return from injury this week. According to PFF, Diggs has been in the slot for 126 snaps and out wide for 100 snaps. So, Johnson will see plenty of work on Diggs if he is active.
When asked what it is going to be like going against his former teammate, Johnson said, “I don’t think it’s gonna be too different. I used to go up against him every day in practice, and training camp. I treat training camp like it’s a game so it won’t be too different.”
Bills linebacker and team captain Terrel Bernard had good things to say when it was his turn to answer questions about Diggs.
“He was a really good vet,” Bernard said this week. “He never held back information of how he saw the game or how he approached the game. It was cool to be able to learn from him and be in the same locker room as him for a couple years. We’re excited to see him.”
The Bills are saying all the right things in the media this week ahead of their matchup with Diggs and the Texans. And it does seem genuine. But, when the ball is kicked off Sunday the Bills will only focus on one thing: getting back in the win column.
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