Much was made of the relationship between Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs, former Buffalo Bills teammates, until the day before the Diggs trade, when the wide receiver essentially questioned on whether Allen could succeed without him.
If there was a dispute between the two, Allen chose to take the high road on Thursday, when he publicly discussed the Diggs trade for the first time. He went out of his way to praise Diggs and the impact the Houston Texans’ newest weapon had on his career during their four years as teammates. Allen said the two exchanged text messages after the Diggs exchange.
“I just thank him for everything he’s done for me,” Allen said of the text. “I will always have a place in my heart for him and I will always love him like a brother and wish him nothing but the best.”
As you can imagine, Allen expressed his disappointment with Buffalo’s decision to part ways with the player who, in Allen’s words, “helped me become the quarterback I am today.”
“It’s really hard to part ways with a guy who has been instrumental in our success here over the last four years,” Allen said. “Obviously, I wish we could keep everyone.
“You know, we made a lot of changes this offseason, lost a lot of veteran leadership, Stef being one of them. I guess that’s the nature of the business. And heading into the seventh year now, that’s kind of what it is I’m not getting paid to make changes on the team I’m getting paid to be the best quarterback I can be and try to lead the guys on this. team.
Allen will look to continue his success without Diggs, who will now join forces in Houston with reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year CJ Stroud. Despite the loss of Diggs, Bills general manager Brandon Beane isn’t hitting the panic button. In fact, Beane said this week that the Bills no need to go out and acquire a new number 1.
“What you need are guys in this offense who are smart, versatile, unselfish and able to make the plays that their skill set allows them to make,” Beane said via 13WHAM. “If there’s one that shows up in free agency or the draft that makes sense for us or a really good No. 2, you know, we’ll do it, but I don’t think not having a No. 1 don’t do it. That doesn’t mean we can’t be successful on offense or as a team.”
While the two players go their separate ways, it is worth recognizing the immense success Allen and Diggs have enjoyed together as teammates. Last October, Nate Burleson of CBS Sports ranked Allen and Diggs as the second best QB/WR duo in the NFLbehind only Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill.
The duo, who helped Buffalo win four straight AFC East titles, will become the second-best QB/WR duo in Bills history, trailing only Hall of Famers Jim Kelly and Andre Reed .