Cowboys' Stefon Diggs dream is still alive thanks to baffling Texans decision

When the Houston Texans acquired Stefon Diggs in a trade with the Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys fans presumed the dream of pairing Diggs with his younger brother, Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs, was dead on arrival.

At first glance, the trade seemed like a huge win for the Texans. For starters, Houston didn't even surrender their own draft pick. The 2025 second-round going to Buffalo was acquired in a separate trade with the Vikings.

Beyond that, though, is the Texans going all-out to capitalize on C.J. Stroud's rookie contract after Stroud's incredible rookie year. Trading for Diggs followed an aggressive free agency in which Houston signed marquee players like pass rusher Danielle Hunter and linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair and made other important additions to improve their depth.

However, praise of the trade skidded to a halt after the Texans made a puzzling decision with Diggs' contract. Essentially, the final three years of Diggs' deal were wiped out, adding four void years to the contract while moving Diggs' guaranteed money in 2025 to 2024.

This gives Diggs a one-year $22.52 million contract for next season, which allows him to hit unrestricted free agency in 2025.

Cowboys' Stefon Diggs dream is alive after Texans' reworked WR's contract

This all but ensures the Diggs-to-Cowboys speculation will return again in 2025, perhaps as soon as 2024 depending on if he pens any cryptic tweets mid-season. Any chance Dallas has of reuniting Trevon Diggs with his older brother hinges on the newly-minted Texans receiver having a down year in Houston.

CeeDee Lamb may holdout of training camp until he gets a new deal, bet rest assured that extension will arrive at some point. Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News believes it'll make Lamb the highest-paid wideout in NFL history. That means Lamb will make upwards of $30 million per year.

If Diggs commands anything north of $20 million next year, the Cowboys will be hard-pressed to afford him, especially with how Jerry and Stephen Jones manage the salary cap. With that said, though, this shocking reworking of Diggs' contract leaves the door ajar.

In theory, the Cowboys will be much better off financially in 2025. As of this writing, they're projected to have $100.64 million in cap room, per Over The Cap. That's the fifth-most in the entire NFL. Granted, Lamb, Dak Prescott and maybe even Micah Parsons could all have new lucrative deals by then, but they'll have limited dead money to account for and other big deals coming off the books.

It's not inconceivable that Dallas could afford to sign Diggs next spring. That would fly in the face of how the Joneses go about their business, but it's a possibility nonetheless thanks to the Texans. If nothing else, the Diggs rumors and speculation will make a return 11 months from now, if not sooner.

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