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 Buffalo Bills provided a strong fit from a chemistry and playing standpoint.

All of his on-field contributions came to a crashing halt when Diggs tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee when he was injured on a noncontact play while running a route in a win over the Indianapolis Colts.

Now that Diggs’ contract has expired after the deal was restructured by general manager Nick Caserio after the trade from Buffalo, he’s scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent. 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.”

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In his final game playing last season for the AFC South champions, 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.

“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.”

Texans coach DeMeco Ryans was noncommittal on any staff or personnel issues during his season-ending press conference, but he emphasized before it got started that he wouldn’t discuss anything like that in detail as he’s still evaluating various situations involving the team with general manager Nick Caserio. That includes the status of offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik and other coaches.

“I won’t get into specifics about each player, but me and Nick will look at the roster and see where we can add guys to help our team win,” Ryans said. “That’s what we’ll do and each player is different.”

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.

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 wide receiver Tank Dell, who’s not expected to play in 2025 after dislocating his knee, tearing his anterior cruciate and lateral collateral and medial collateral ligaments and damaging his meniscus, per league sources.

“You don’t want to have one of your leaders go down like that,” fellow receiver Nico 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. Him, Tank, Jimmie (Ward), (Jalen) Pitre, losing guys like that you need him, valuable pieces to the team.”

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.”