The Texans’ receiver and soon-to-be free agent saw his season cut short thanks to a torn ACL suffered in October. Diggs is on the road to recovery as he gears up for another potential offseason of change. It’s unclear whether he wants to remain with the Texans, but general manager Nick Caserio said Wednesday that he is ‘absolutely open’ to the idea.
During an appearance on SportsRadio 610 in Houston, Caserio addressed the possibility of Diggs returning.
‘We have good relationships with Stef and his representation,’ Caserio said on the ‘Payne and Pendergast’ show. ‘We enjoyed having Stef in the building. So, the door is always open. A number of players have expressed sentiments and interest in potentially returning to our team next season. We never rule anything out, so we’re going to be open-minded.’
He suggested that discussions will begin to pick up in the coming weeks, noting that the ‘illegal tampering period’ begins at the NFL combine, which is slated for February 24 to March 3.
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“Things will probably pick up here over the next few weeks and obviously when you have, we’ll call it the legal tampering period, which will be preceded by the illegal tampering period which will take place at the combine, we’ll probably have a pretty good idea of kind of where everybody is going to situate and what the market looks like,” Caserio said.
This comes a month after C.J. Stroud expressed a desire to bring Diggs back next season.
“That’s my boy,” Stroud said at the team’s end of season press conference. “I would love to have Stef back. We were just getting started. He was having so much fun. Me and him were starting to build a rapport.”
Houston acquired Diggs from Buffalo last offseason, sending the Vikings’ 2025 second-round pick to the Bills in exchange for the receiver, a sixth-round pick in 2024 and a fifth-round pick in 2025.
With Tank Dell’s 2025 season in doubt after he suffered a severe knee injury, the Texans will be in the market for a capable receiver to play opposite Nico Collins.
The team isn’t flush with cap space though, projected to have around $5 million, per OverTheCap. That will require some work to free up space, but it’s also important to note the presence of a new offensive coordinator.
Houston hired Nick Caley from the Los Angeles Rams after firing Bobby Slowik. Whether Diggs comes back likely relies on how Caley views the 31-year-old.
The Texans may not have much choice with a weaker than usual free agent market.