INDIANAPOLIS – The regression of the Texans offense took another downturn into a sputtering passing game when veteran wide receiver Stefon Diggs tore his anterior cruciate ligament in his knee against the Indianapolis Colts.
The value Diggs displayed as a team captain and a reliable pass-catching threat were sorely missed.
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They were 5-1 when Diggs, star wide receiver Nico Collins and Tank Dell were in the lineup together. That was before Collins pulled his hamstring while catching a touchdown against the Buffalo Bills and missed the next five games. In December, Dell suffered a devastating knee injury against the Kansas City Chiefs that has endangered his availability for next season.
Now, the Texans have a tough decision to make about Diggs. His recovery from the knee injury is going well, by all accounts, and he’s ahead of schedule. Because of the way his deal was renegotiated when he joined the team in a trade from the Bills last offseason to make this a one-year partnership with the Texans, he’s now an unrestricted free agent.
While Diggs is expected to explore his market to find his value as a free agent, the Texans are not closing the door on potentially doing a new deal with the four-time Pro Bowl selection.
In the same conversation about Diggs, Texans coach DeMeco Ryans made it abundantly clear: The defending AFC South champions are highly interested in bolstering the wide receiver position in whichever way possible.
“We loved having Stef on our team, we’ll see how things work out with him,” Ryans said at the NFL scouting combine. “Stef, you talk about energy, you talk about leadership, he brought a lot to our team.
“So, it hurt us down the stretch not having Stef, not having Tank. You need those playmakers, especially at the wide receiver position. It enhances your ability to be able to move the football down the field and score points. That is an area of emphasis for us is looking at the wide receivers.”
Nick Caserio on Stefon Diggs, and big picture for #Texans team that has won two consecutive division titles @KPRC2 https://t.co/V3OEsJu3SZ pic.twitter.com/bXP93QaVTE
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) February 26, 2025
Diggs would regularly hold court with his teammates, exchanging jokes and jabs in a fun-loving manner. Diggs emerged as a popular figure in the locker room, voted a team captain in balloting by his teammates.
On the field, the four-time Pro Bowl selection ran crisp routes, creating separation and delivered as a reliable pass-catching option even though he wasn’t a deep threat. By all accounts, his trade from the Bills provided a strong fit from a chemistry and playing standpoint.
And the Texans are staying in touch with Diggs.
“Stef is rehabbing, he’s going to be a free agent here,” Texans general manager Nick Caserio said. “We’re going to have discussions with all of our free agents. Stef did a lot of good things for our team. We’re certainly open to bringing him back. We’ll go through the process here.”
The Texans are expected to delve deeply into the free agent market and a wide receiver class that includes Ohio State standout Emeka Egbuka, Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden III and Texas wide receiver Matthew Golden.
A year ago, the Texans traded a second-round draft pick to acquire Diggs and sixth-round and fifth-round selections.
Two high-profile wide receivers are available for trades currently: the Los Angeles Rams’ Cooper Kupp and the San Francisco 49ers’ Deebo Samuel.
“There’s always a cost,” Caserio said. “There’s an opportunity cost associated with doing something. Player, here’s a cost associated with them, whether it’s a contract, whether it’s draft compensation. Do you feel the player is worth that, whatever the opposing team is asking? Trades are always, it takes two to tango. So, we could think one thing, they could think another thing, if it matches up.
“The Diggs case, is a good example. So, we felt comfortable with that, and we thought it made sense. We thought it was the right value. So, we went ahead and did it. What’s it going to look like this year? I mean, I’m not sure. So, we’ll go through this process here. I think we’re very case by case. Look at the situation, take the information in. All right, if we make this decision, what’s at the expense of? All right, what are the alternatives, what’s the next best option? That’s kind of how we’ll approach it.”
Why not run it back with Diggs when his knee, which is ahead of schedule in his rehabilitation, is fully healed? It’s an idea the Texans are contemplating and it would be a popular move with the players. The primary impediments are Diggs’ age, he’ll turn 32 next November, and he is coming off a major injury.
That said, ACL repairs are far more routine nowadays with modern medicine and advanced training techniques. Diggs is already making serious improvements in his recovery and the scar tissue from the surgery is breaking up nicely.
Diggs, depending on the price and role in the offense, is intrigued by the idea of returning and genuinely loved playing and being in Houston, per league sources. Diggs’ mother recently wrote on social media she prefers her son, a Maryland native and former Good Counsel High School star who played at the University of Maryland, either play for the hometown Washington Commanders or for the Texans again.
Diggs, 31, caught 47 passes for 496 yards and three touchdowns and was on pace for 100 catches and 1,000 yards before he injured his knee.
And quarterback C.J. Stroud wants to continue what they started last season after spending months building timing and chemistry and a friendship
“Man, y’all know me, that’s my boy, I would love to have Stef back,” Stroud said. “And man, I think we were just getting started. Like you see he was having so much fun and me and him were starting to build a rapport and really he’s a person where he wears his heart on his sleeve in everything that he does and I appreciate it because in a world of perfectness, in a world of not being weak, in a world of everything being perfect, he’s the one to tell you he’s not and I’m right there with him. He’s somebody who I would love to do all this whole thing back with.”
In his final game playing last season for the Texans, Diggs caught five passes for 81 yards, including a 49-yard reception, on nine targets, for one of his bigger games since joining the team.
When he’s healthy, Diggs is one of the most productive and polished wide receivers in the game.
His route running is pinpoint.
His hands are reliable.
He’s a physical and willing blocker.
And he fit into the Texans’ team concept all year.
About the only blip on the radar screen was a feisty moment when he nearly got into a fight with Green Bay Packers players including cornerback Jaire Alexander before a loss at Lambeau Field. Other than that game, Diggs’ composure and professionalism were all pluses.
“I see how he’s attacking his offseason program and his recovery program, and he’s doing a great job,” Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon said. “I think that he’s definitely on track to becoming better and returning from his injury. I’m just excited that he’s back on his feet.
“I hope that he’s back and my locker mate again. When it comes down to it, I’m sure he’s gonna do what’s best for him and same with the team. But selfishly, I think that all of us are gonna welcome Stef back with open arms.”
A month before Diggs joined the team in an offseason trade, it was Mixon who predicted it was going to happen. He had inside information and was already recruiting Diggs on the merits of coming to Houston.
A year later, Mixon is selling Diggs on the idea of returning to Houston and having their lockers next to each other again.
The Texans were 6-2 when Diggs was playing. They finished 11-8 overall, including a season-ending AFC divisional round playoff loss to the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, going 5-6 without Diggs in the lineup.
“Since Day One of really me personally trying to recruit him from texting him and having conversations and just telling him like, ‘Hopefully, we could get together in Houston and bring a Super Bowl there,’ and things like that, I think we definitely were on the same page,” Mixon said. “Obviously, my guy just got hurt. He’s happy and I’m sure he’s gonna probably want to come back here and we’ve got unfinished business, man. So, hopefully, he takes that into consideration.”
Ideally, the Texans will get Diggs back to complement Pro Bowl wide receiver Nico Collins.
Collins was often double-teamed and shadowed by top cornerbacks, especially after Diggs and Dell got hurt.
“You don’t want to have one of your leaders go down like that,” Collins said. “That’s who Stef is, he’s a great leader, great leader in the receiver room. Great leader around the league, dude’s been around the league for years. He knows what it take to win, and you want to have that leadership in the locker room. For him to go down, it hurt.”
Not having Diggs and Dell created a lot of added coverage attention on Collins.
He handled it all well, but it wasn’t the kind of offensive success they could have had.
“They’re some valued pieces, man,” Collins said. “We know how much those guys meant to this team, to the wideouts. Just losing them, it hurt. So, I feel like for us, we had to continue to work with what we had, execute and have fun. We tried doing that, but I missed my guys, man.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.