Tortured relationship analogies aside, the Vikings' trade of Stefon Diggs to Buffalo — which happened in mid-March, at the outset of the pandemic, which sounds impossible in so many ways — was a deal that has worked out for the best for both teams and Diggs.
The Vikings received the draft pick that became the dynamic Justin Jefferson, a 1-for-1 wide receiver swap that doesn't usually work out so neatly. Diggs probably would have had a bigger impact than Jefferson on the 2020 Vikings (assuming he was healthy and happy, which are two big assumptions), but Jefferson looks like he will be a standout for years to come.
Diggs went to a team that wanted him, and he has put up huge numbers — 100 catches already — for a 10-3 team building a very good offense.
The circumstances of Diggs' departure from the Vikings have been covered before. He wasn't happy with an increasingly run-focused offense. Relationships became frayed. Eventually, his actions (missing practice) and words (social media musings) gave way to the trade.
There's not much to re-litigate since the swap was the rare one in which both sides benefited greatly, but a recent ESPN cover story on Diggs at least gives us an additional glimpse into what went wrong from his perspective. The key paragraph and quote:
In truth, though, Diggs' biggest problem wasn't the lack of touches; it was that he felt his conversations with Vikings officials were inauthentic. He didn't feel heard.
"I'm not gonna say [they were] peeing on me and telling me that it's raining," he says. "That's a little bit harsh." He considers his words. "But something like that. ... Once you don't have trust with a person, it's hard to do business."
Diggs seems to be getting everything he wants in Buffalo — at least for now. We'll see how long it lasts, and reserve the right to re-evaluate this trade again in a couple of years.
