The Texans agreed to eliminate the final three years of Diggs’ deal, which would allow him to become a free agent after this season according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Why would the Texans give up the contractual rights for the final three years? As I understood, those final three years were not guaranteed, so they could have cut Diggs then if they wanted to move on while having him under contract if they wanted to keep him. Now they are only guaranteed of having him for one year.
The Bills had already paid Diggs 's signing bonus and are on the hook for $31 million in dead cap space too. The Texans seemed to have gotten those three non-guaranteed years without the associated signing bonus and corresponding salary cap implications. Now they threw it all away
On the positive side for Chiefs’ fans, should your team decide it wants Diggs:
The Texans are doing the right thing by trying to maximize C.J. Stroud’s rookie contract. However, by my count he still has three cheap years before the fifth year option kicks in. If I were them, I would have wanted to keep Diggs under contract during that time. If the Texans were worried about Diggs getting upset over his contract situation, they could promise him that they would redo his contract if he delivered in 2024. Nothing I have read gives a good reason for unilaterally getting rid of those final three years, other than it might motivate Diggs to perform well this year knowing he could cash in as a free agent next year.