ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Stefon Diggs‘ information of the Buffalo Bills was restricted.
When he was traded to the group in March 2020 for 4 draft picks, most of what Diggs knew in regards to the Payments got here from Buffalo’s 27-6 win over his former workforce, the Minnesota Vikings, in 2018.
Regardless of that, earlier than even attending to Buffalo, Diggs knew that he wished the Payments to be his final workforce. The ultimate cease of his profession. And he was assured it could work out.
“I wanted it to be my home, and I didn’t want to ever go anywhere,” Diggs stated of his mindset.
Buffalo wanted a veteran wideout to pair with Josh Allen, its rising younger quarterback, however whether or not the deal would achieve success, with a lot draft capital concerned, was unknown.
“Obviously, time will tell if this move for Stefon was right,” normal supervisor Brandon Beane stated in 2020. “Sometimes the best-laid plans don’t always translate.”
Quick-forward simply over two years, and Diggs entered a information convention room on Thursday decked from head to toe in Payments blue along with his household by his aspect. It was minutes after he had formally signed a four-year, $104 million extension that hyperlinks him to the workforce via the 2027 season with the thought of retiring in Buffalo.
The previous fifth-round choose’s prediction that it could work out, partially due to his perception in Allen’s expertise from the start, proved to be appropriate.
“When I was anticipating coming here [in 2020], I knew Josh Allen was a good quarterback,” Diggs stated. “I watched him beat us … and he was simply balling like loopy. So, I had confidence in Josh.”
In Buffalo, Diggs, 28, found a place he could be himself. Relationships like the one he has with Allen played a large part in his desire to stay for the long haul. In fact, the biggest thing that surprised Diggs about coming to Buffalo was how much it felt like home.
“They took a real chance, and it wasn’t business when I got it here,” Diggs said. “… When you talk about pressure, I didn’t feel any pressure to be anybody but myself. That’s why I feel like I’m such in a great place because being yourself brings you comfort. It brings you happiness. And I don’t have to wake up and say that I’m anybody else, I can just be myself and they love me up.”
The move to extend Diggs, with two years remaining on his previous deal, both pays the wide receiver what he’s worth — earning the second-most guaranteed money of any current wide receiver at $70 million — and further cements Buffalo’s roster as arguably the most talented in the NFL.
“As far as acquiring the right pieces, [the Bills are] trusted. They’ve done it,” Diggs said. “I guess I can say I’m a little bit of a prime example. They bring the right guys in, and our defense was [tied for] first for the majority of categories last year. Every year is a new year and I see us doing nothing but trying to get better.”
Whereas a number of extensive receivers acquired record-setting offers, Diggs by no means panicked or acquired too concerned in negotiations, preferring to let his agent, Adisa Bakari, deal with that. A way of gratitude set in when the settlement was accomplished.
“I wanted to prove why I got paid the first time and this time I’m on another track to where I want to prove it all over again,” Diggs stated. “I want to prove that I’m one of the best receivers in the league. I’m a part of one of the best teams in the league and I’m chasing.”
In two years with the Payments, Diggs has earned his first two Professional Bowl appearances, together with a career- and franchise-record-setting efficiency in 2020 with 127 receptions and 1,535 yards. His 230 receptions and a couple of,760 receiving yards with Buffalo rank him first and fourth, respectively, amongst gamers of their first two seasons with a workforce in NFL historical past, per Elias Sports activities Bureau.
However maybe his greatest step ahead has come off the sphere. After the roller-coaster expertise of his 5 seasons in Minnesota, Diggs set a aim as soon as he acquired to Buffalo to turn out to be a captain rapidly.
“I wanted it in my first year so bad,” Diggs stated. Nevertheless it took till 2021 for him to earn the consideration for the primary time in his profession.
“Stef has done a phenomenal job of changing the culture, or helping change the culture,” coach Sean McDermott stated on the latest league conferences. “His competitive nature, his ability to put the team first at a position that is not always know for that — I think goes a long way in our locker room and [with] us, in terms of the team that we’ve become. I think he’s got a great dynamic with Josh on and off the field, and a lot of the other players in our locker room as well. He works extremely hard at it, and the results are out there.”
These outcomes have performed a key position in helping Allen’s development into the most effective younger quarterbacks within the NFL. The duo made the Payments the primary workforce to present a quarterback $100 million assured and a receiver $70 million assured on the similar time, per ESPN Stats & Info analysis.
Amid a crowd of AFC contenders, Buffalo now has three of its high gamers — Allen, Diggs and cornerback Tre’Davious White — signed via at the least the 2025 season.
Beane took care of a necessity at pass-rusher by signing Von Miller, a participant whom Diggs started recruiting halfway via final season, to a take care of $51 million absolutely assured. They Payments have spent the offseason bettering a roster that has virtually no holes, and so they nonetheless have eight picks within the 2022 NFL draft to return.
There is not any doubt what the Payments imagine the ceiling is for this workforce.
“We got some more experience underneath our belt and moving forward that only can help you,” Diggs stated. “You never lose, you only learn. That’s what they say. So, moving forward, I like us.”
