BENGALS LOSES KEY MAN TO RIVALS.

The Buffalo Bills surprised the NFL by trading star wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans. Diggs has been a top target for quarterback Josh Allen in Buffalo’s offense for the past four seasons, but now he will continue his career in Houston, catching passes from second-year stud C.J. Stroud.

In exchange for Diggs, the Bills received draft pick compensation in the form of a 2025 second-round pick (via the Minnesota Vikings). The Bills will also send a 2024 sixth-round pick and a 2025 fifth-round pick to Houston in the deal.

The addition of Diggs should be a big boon to the Texans’ offense, as they now boast a wide receiver trio of Diggs, Nico Collins and Tank Dell. Plus. they have former Bengal Joe Mixon at running back and Dalton Schultz at tight end. That’s a pretty potent offense, on paper at least.

Meanwhile, the Bills have been bleeding all offseason, and Diggs is just the latest loss that fans in Buffalo have had to endure. In addition to Diggs, the Bills have also moved on from wide receiver Gabe Davis and a plethora of key defensive pieces like safety Jordan Pryor and linebacker Leonard Floyd. They now have several lingering questions regarding their roster.

What Diggs trade means for Tee Higgins market value.

The Diggs trade is an interesting one for NFL fans to digest, but it could be especially noteworthy for fans in Cincinnati given how it could impact Tee Higgins’ market value. Higgins requested a trade away from the Bengals at the onset of free agency, but the Bengals have been hesitant to make a move involving the star wide receiver.

Now, with the Diggs deal done, we might have an idea of what kind of compensation that the Bengals could be looking for in a potential deal.

Career-wise, Diggs is a [much] more accomplished receiver than Higgins. Diggs is a four-time Pro Bowler who led the league in both receptions and receiving yards in 2020. However, Diggs is also five years older than Higgins, and has five more years of wear-and-tear on his body than Higgins does.

Plus, the stats are probably slightly skewed in favor of Diggs, as he’d had the opportunity to operate primarily as a No. 1 receiver, while Higgins has been the second option behind Ja’Marr Chase for the past three seasons. If Higgins had been the top option elsewhere, his numbers would probably be more gaudy at this point in time.

So, if the Bengals got a second-round pick in exchange for a 30-year old Diggs, Cincinnati would likely want at least that same value in return for a 25-year old Higgins, if not more. The Bengals are unlikely to land a first-round pick for Higgins, but perhaps a pair of picks in the first few rounds would get the job done.

Publicly, the Bengals have been adamant about wanting to have Higgins on the roster next season. But, perhaps seeing the value that the Bills got back for Diggs will prompt them to switch their stance.