After Diggs was traded by the Buffalo Bills to the Houston Texans, some obliging onlookers caught stray players, like Christian Kirk of the Jacksonville Jaguars, who later came under fire for what some felt was an overpriced contract.
However, the most devastating blow came from one of the most notorious Cowboys rivals in NFL history—Stephen A. Smith—to America’s favorite team. Shortly after news of Diggs’s trade broke, Smith pivoted on First Take and launched into a scathing tirade against, arguably, the second-best team in the state of Texas.
Smith went on, “I hope it’s Houston vs. Dallas, but I don’t know what’s scheduled.” “What will happen with the Dallas Cowboys is that they will observe this situation from up above.
It’s one thing, and a terrible one at that, for you to lose the Super Bowl. It’s not good enough that you haven’t won an NFC championship in 29 years. However, it’s a very different matter when your team isn’t even the greatest in Texas.
The 2024–25 NFL schedule will be released in May, so fans hoping for an intrastate matchup between the Cowboys and Texans—who both won their divisions in the previous season—will have to wait.
Smith pointed out that the Texans might be ahead right now because they have a young and talented team, a head coach with experience, and a respectable amount of cap space (approximately $11 million after Diggs was traded but before Diggs’s anticipated contract restructuring).
Houston has stacked up on weapons over the last two offseasons, adding players like former Cowboy Dalton Schultz, Joe Mixon, and Diggs to extend the team’s Super Bowl window for the foreseeable future. Star quarterback C.J. Stroud is playing on a team-friendly rookie deal.
Much to Smith’s delight, the Texans may adopt an often-used catchphrase from their intrastate rivals: This year is our year.
Meanwhile, over in Dallas, the Cowboys are coming off yet another lackluster postseason and still have to pay several top-of-the-market players including Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Micah Parsons.
