- 1 day ago
Stefon Diggs is officially a Commander, and Grant & Danny react to one of the biggest moves of the offseason! The guys break down what Diggs brings to Washington's offense, how he fits alongside Terry McLaurin and the rest of the receiving corps, what this means for Jayden Daniels, and how the Commanders' playoff outlook changes with the addition of the four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver.
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00:00We had a whole rundown. We had a whole plan.
00:01We had a lot of things we were going to talk about early in the show,
00:04and now they all get shoved to the back burner for some breaking news.
00:08Right out of the chute, the Washington Commanders are finalizing a deal
00:14with four-time Pro Bowl receiver Stefan Diggs.
00:18He will be showing up at training camp, should be on the practice field
00:22the next time the team practices on Friday.
00:24They are off tomorrow.
00:26Diggs, four Pro Bowl appearances, one of the more productive receivers of his era,
00:32a former Maryland Terrapin, DMV Ties, 32 years old, last year a 1,000-yard receiver
00:38for a Patriots team that made the Super Bowl.
00:42Danny, he is signing a contract with Washington.
00:44I love it. So correct. This is what's needed.
00:46You look at their returning receivers outside of Tara McLaurin,
00:49who had this injury-plagued year, and you're hoping for a bounce back.
00:52Their leading wideout that's back on this team is Jalen Lane with 225 yards.
00:56It's a lot of unproven. There's a lot of hope in there.
00:58There's a lot of, let's see what happens with Traylon Burks.
01:01Let's see what happens with Yami Brown with his second act here in Washington
01:04because he was good for that playoff game or two.
01:07This is a bona fide. This is even slowed down,
01:09even not the guy that went for well over 100 catches and 1,500 yards a couple of seasons ago.
01:14This is better than anybody else they had by a long shot, in my view.
01:18This is exactly what they needed. I understand it's not the perfect fit in terms of skill set.
01:23He's maybe a little bit of a slot guy, a little bit outside.
01:25I'm not worried about that.
01:26That is a productive football player that they were in dire need of for this offense.
01:31More weapons, more security.
01:33Make it easier on Jaden Daniels, not harder.
01:35I love this signing. I love it.
01:38Yeah, Adam Schefter's reporting it could be worth up to $12 million,
01:41which means that the Stephon Diggs deal is going to be worth less than that
01:45in terms of initial guaranteed money at signing and maybe with some escalators,
01:49that number could go up.
01:51But this is a really savvy and cerebral play.
01:54There was no panic for me on this because Diggs was not in a rush to get into an NFL
01:59training camp.
02:00When you're a veteran of his caliber, when you've been around the block as long as he has,
02:03you're not trying to get here and sweat and bleed with teammates for the entirety of camp.
02:08I'm actually a little bit surprised.
02:09I am too.
02:10That he's coming in this early.
02:11I thought he could wait longer, and the team might want to wait longer to just continue to get reps
02:15for some of their younger players.
02:16But this is now all of a sudden a pretty well-put-together room.
02:20Terry McLaurin's a $30 million man who they want to target 10 times a game and is a wide receiver
02:25one.
02:26Diggs last year, playing sub-60% of snaps, went for 1,000 yards with the New England Patriots,
02:32and looks like he could still be a volume guy as a route runner in the slot.
02:36He becomes your wide receiver two.
02:39We know how they're going to use Chigakonkwo.
02:41I've been out here at every single practice.
02:42Whatever amount, Danny, you think he moves around or is involved or is targeted, you're wrong.
02:47It's more.
02:48It's just he is going to be maybe the second most targeted guy on the team, even pushing Diggs in
02:53that regard.
02:54It's why they made him their marquee and priority free agent addition.
02:57And then the other guys that they've got all get slid down the depth chart a little bit, which is
03:02a good thing.
03:02Traylon Burks has had a fantastic camp in that wide receiver two role.
03:06He caught 10 balls last year.
03:07They bring Deami Brown back, who shined in the playoffs a couple years ago.
03:11He's flashed at camp.
03:12Luke McCaffrey's coming off of his two best days of camp.
03:15His practice yesterday was maybe the best practice I've ever seen him have in terms of separation, catching passes, getting
03:21open, beating starting corners.
03:23That's all good.
03:24Those are good things.
03:25Now you slide everybody down a position, Danny, and you've got McLaurin as a one and Diggs as a two,
03:31and maybe it's McCaffrey or Burks, depending on the role in 11 personnel, as a three and a four.
03:36The rookie Antonio Williams is the guy I haven't mentioned, who's shined like a strobe light at times in this
03:41camp.
03:41But he becomes a little bit of a redundant piece to Diggs, and his development's going to take a step
03:48back, I think, to trying to win in the moment and help Jaden Daniels.
03:52So if it's about developing him and getting him looks, that's a little frustrating because he's going to get stunted
03:56in that way.
03:57But the best thing you can do is to give Daniels as many weapons as possible on his rookie contract,
04:02and Adam Peters, at one year and probably around $10 to $12 million, is doing that with a proven bona
04:08fide four-time Pro Bowler.
04:10Just feels like the right decision and a no-brainer decision after last year when they were in shambles after
04:16the McLaurin injury at wideout.
04:17100%, and I think it's well put.
04:19I mean, to me, philosophically, if you have a quarterback on a rookie deal, you do not rest until you
04:23have the best skill position players money can buy, best offensive line money can buy.
04:27Until that's over, nothing else really matters.
04:30Once you get into the Mahomes, Josh Allen, even Lamar Jackson, and some of the other guys, that tier where
04:36you're making all the money, now you're going to go, hey, man, you've got to figure it out with Antonio
04:40Williams and Dami Brown.
04:41We've got to figure it out with Traylon Burks and a couple other cast-offs.
04:44You shouldn't be putting a guy that hasn't started 25 games in that position, and they're not.
04:49And I give him credit.
04:51I was worried about this because there's other siren calls out there, right, whether it was Kansas City, whether there's
04:57an injury at training camp somewhere else for a really competitive team.
05:00Diggs could kind of pick his spot.
05:01I thought this would kind of go down to the wire.
05:03I thought we'd be almost to the end of August before he kind of made his choice.
05:06So I'm thrilled that it happened.
05:08I love that he's going to get in here.
05:10In general, I'm with you.
05:11If a team is rebuilding, if we're going slow, and may or may not have the quarterback, if this was
05:15another Carson Wentz year or a Case Keenum year or one of these waste of times, I would go, I
05:20want to see Antonio Williams as much as possible.
05:22With all due respect, he's secondary to me.
05:25It's about Jaden Daniels, and I need a security blanket, and they just got one here.
05:29A guy that admittedly is on his fourth team in four years, but there's a lot of thousand-yard seasons
05:33in those four years.
05:34I will certainly take that on a short-term deal for a guy that's, you know, has been in these
05:38short terms on his best behavior on the field when it comes to, you know, some of those antics where
05:43he's worn out as welcome in other places.
05:44That hasn't been the case over these last couple of seasons where, you know, since he left Buffalo, basically, he's
05:49been, as you know, kind of by all reports, just a guy that comes up or goes to work, does
05:54a good job, and catches a whole bunch of balls.
05:56I think that's a really important part of this, so let's dive into that.
05:59From a teammate standpoint, they were making the decision as to whether or not they wanted to add a valued
06:06piece but a big personality to this locker room.
06:10That's what he is, by the way.
06:11He is a massive personality.
06:12When he's in a room, you know it.
06:14He's going to be loud.
06:15He's going to be attracting attention.
06:17He's going to make the jokes, right?
06:19I think what you've seen in the last few years of Stephon Diggs' career is that he has prioritized his
06:24love for football over some of the diva stuff that had followed him, where he fell out of favor with
06:29the Vikings and got shipped out of there.
06:31Then he's playing with an MVP, and a guy that some people would tell you is the best quarterback in
06:35the league over Pat Mahomes right now, and Josh Allen.
06:37And he and Allen had issues, and who has a problem with Josh Allen?
06:41He seems like the nicest guy in the history of the world.
06:43He's married to Haley Steinfeld.
06:45He's like Mr. Buffalo.
06:46He could win mayor in multiple towns.
06:48And, you know, that area of New York.
06:50And Stephon Diggs, for whatever reason, couldn't get along with him.
06:53He moves on.
06:54So now he goes to Houston for a year where they really, really liked him.
06:57I think there was kind of a come-to-Jesus moment there.
07:00He got hurt and only played half of a year, but they have nothing but nice things to say about
07:03him in that organization.
07:04And then last year, he was with a young quarterback.
07:07He was helping a Daniels-esque piece, Drake May, in New England.
07:11And he played in all 17 games.
07:1385 catches on 102 targets tells you a lot.
07:16ADOT's not high.
07:17It's a lot of stuff around the line of scrimmage.
07:19It's screens.
07:20It's crossers.
07:21It's drags.
07:21I think he's going to fit beautifully into what Blau does.
07:24But comparative to, say, Brandon Ayuk, who is loud on social media, making weird videos, a gigantic pain in the
07:32ass off the field.
07:33Stephon Diggs gets in a lot of trouble, okay?
07:36He does.
07:37He has, you know, there's always in the news with, like, TMZ because he's dating a celebrity or there's something
07:41in a weird bag on a boat.
07:43And we don't know what it is, but it's a weird color.
07:45Like, Stephon Diggs has stuff like that happening.
07:47But he loves football.
07:49His videos are about training.
07:51They're about catching passes, running routes.
07:53He wants to win.
07:54He's the guy, Danny, that's sitting on the sideline 10 minutes after the Super Bowl stage was put away, still
08:00crying because the confetti's falling around him because he wants to win really badly.
08:04So give me that.
08:05I'll deal with some of the other stuff off the field, but he cares about ball.
08:11Brandon Ayuk's making videos where he's, like, stepping on money.
08:13They're very, very different.
08:15And, by the way, the best thing about this deal is it closes any book on Brandon Ayuk, I would
08:19think.
08:20You jumped to part two.
08:21We've already stopped talking about him, but we can now officially say that clown shoe's not coming here.
08:27I'm thrilled about that.
08:28And I wonder if, I mean, he might be five feet away from me.
08:30He lives in Ashburn, apparently.
08:31He bought a $10 million home.
08:32He bought a home there.
08:33What is he thinking right now?
08:35Well, what is he thinking, I think, is a great standing question that I don't know we'll get a good
08:39resolution to.
08:40But I think that's part two of it.
08:41You're 100% right.
08:43That temptation, hopefully, has been now removed.
08:47I want no part of, as you said, the clown shoe.
08:49But for Diggs, again, I had a couple listeners.
08:52I think one of the days that you were out around the All-Star game was very passionate about this.
08:57I think a lot of fans feel this way.
08:59Just some of the off-field things and what he was accused of and the different legal proceedings and the
09:03like.
09:04And I totally understand that.
09:06I have less of a moral high ground when it comes to those sorts of things than a lot of
09:12people might.
09:14Here's how I view it in general.
09:15And I know not everyone does.
09:17And it's your fandom.
09:17However you want to allocate the chips is your call.
09:21But for me, the league says you're eligible to play.
09:24So I go, yep, that's fine by me.
09:25That's all I'm going by.
09:27I don't need a choir boy.
09:29I don't need anything where you're an angel.
09:31You're perfect.
09:32I would prefer that if given the choice.
09:34But can you help my football team?
09:36And the only thing I care about is, are you going to do the stupid, selfish thing again that means
09:41you can't play?
09:41A.K.A. I don't really have a moral problem with people smoking the pots.
09:46God bless.
09:47Whatever you want to do is fine.
09:48I don't care.
09:49Well, the NFL said, hey, man, if you test positive, you get suspended.
09:51So don't do it.
09:53So I don't care about the crime.
09:55I care about the, are you able to play for my football team?
09:57So none of these off-field misbehaviors are, you know, some would say emblematic of not great decision-making.
10:07But ultimately, these aren't like, you know, Jamin Davis couldn't stop speeding, for example.
10:11Or these aren't sort of chronic, you know, kinds of issues.
10:15They are one-offs.
10:16I'm not proud of them.
10:17That's not something I'm really thrilled about.
10:19But that doesn't really matter to me.
10:21If I'm on a short-term deal where he's been best behavior each of the last couple of years, fine
10:26by me.
10:26Sign me up.
10:27I just got a 1,000-yard receiver in August.
10:29I will do that 1,000 times out of 1,000.
10:32Yeah.
10:33Here's the thing about the way that Peter's played this, too.
10:35He deserves a lot of credit.
10:36We were getting a lot of calls.
10:38I've been talking to listeners out here every single day.
10:40In fact, I had a listener call me over to the fence today and say, are we signing Stephon Diggs?
10:45And I said, well, I think they have a chance to, but it's not going to be in the next
10:48few days.
10:49They're not in a rush.
10:49He's not in a rush.
10:50So to that guy, if he's listening right now, I'm a silly goose and I apologize.
10:54I led you astray.
10:55But they had a good relationship with Diggs over the last several weeks, and I would say probably throughout the
11:01offseason,
11:02where they knew, yes, the Chiefs, the Niners, other teams could be interested, but in their mind, we got 44
11:09million bucks.
11:10We could spend what it takes.
11:12Call us.
11:13Don't just do a deal with someone.
11:15Reach out to us.
11:16We're interested.
11:17And Peter has played it correctly.
11:19You keep in touch with the agent.
11:21You're contacting pretty routinely.
11:22What are you guys thinking?
11:24What are you feeling?
11:24So I thought all along this could end with Diggs coming here.
11:29We had Jeremy Fowler on the show a couple days ago.
11:31In fact, Darius grabbed the clip when Toby asked him about the likeliness of it happening and what Jeremy Fowler,
11:37VSPN, has been reporting on this, said.
11:39Because he's, throughout the process, been pretty steadfast that he thought it could end with Diggs coming to D.C.
11:44But there just wasn't a whole lot of a rush.
11:46I think the commanders liked the idea that Traylon Burks is getting a ton of reps, and De'Ami Brown
11:51and Luke McCaffrey are getting the work in right now.
11:54Diggs is going to be in shape.
11:55Diggs is going to have plenty of time to get up to speed.
11:57But give Peters credit.
11:59Yep.
11:59And I'm not knocking you, but people were panicking and screaming and angry.
12:03You didn't do the wide receiver thing, the veteran thing.
12:05You've now drafted a third-round picket receiver.
12:07You pay another guy $30 million, and you brought in a 1,000-yard receiver.
12:11What the hell else can I do for you?
12:13Oh, by the way, I signed you a $10 million tight end, and I got a good offensive line, and
12:16I upgraded my defense.
12:18Now leave me alone, and let's go play football.
12:20I don't know what else I'm supposed to do to support the quarterback.
12:24That signing changed it for me.
12:26Honestly, the signing changes it.
12:27Because I'm sitting there going, this is the third straight year.
12:30You have so much unspent cap space.
12:33Third straight year.
12:34What are you hoarding?
12:35What are you waiting for with a rookie quarterback?
12:37Down the line, you make these kinds of deals where you go, we've got to sacrifice somewhere.
12:41We'll pinch pennies on this one, and it's up to the quarterback to elevate.
12:44I did not understand it, and I didn't see it.
12:47Now, I was hoping it was Diggs, but they keep things so close to the vest, and it's to their
12:52credit.
12:52So, yeah, I was 100% concerned.
12:54And if you want to pick on me, that's totally fine.
12:56I'll wear it.
12:56And I was basically looking at this regime going, are we sure these guys see what needs
13:02to be seen?
13:03Or do they have their blinders on?
13:04Because they're so in love with this fourth rounder or this third rounder or these other
13:07guys that are just going to magically finally materialize and produce.
13:10This is their, again, this is the bona fide.
13:13This is a guy that, even though he's not the same player he was a few years ago, is still,
13:17as you said, playing around half the snaps, coming off an 85-catch, 1,000-plus-yard season.
13:23That's five of their receivers, not named Terry McLaurin, put together.
13:27Yes, you absolutely needed this, and I'm thrilled that it happened.
13:31And to me, it changes the entire offseason.
13:33Yeah, I think you're right.
13:34I think it should.
13:36I wasn't convinced.
13:37I didn't know for sure they would always do this.
13:39I didn't think it was as perilous as a lot of people that they needed to.
13:42I think it's smart.
13:43I think it makes an okay group good.
13:46I think it might even make them really good.
13:49But your wide receiver one is the beloved $30 million guy.
13:53Your wide receiver two is coming off of 1,000.
13:55Your wide receiver three is a huge collection of players used in different roles,
14:00led by a top 75 pick this year.
14:02So all of a sudden, the team that doesn't use enough assets at wide receiver
14:05looks like they're in a pretty good place.
14:07This was Jeremy Fowler of ESPN on the show going back two days ago.
14:12They are monitoring this fun dig situation.
14:15You know, that's one that's firmly on the radar, I would say.
14:18It's really a situation where they can play out at least this week
14:22and just see who emerges, who develops.
14:26You know, they really have pretty big plans for Traylon Burks.
14:29Not that he's a bona fide two at this point,
14:30but they do feel like he can help them with some of his strength,
14:33you know, especially in the red zone.
14:35He might not be able to look like the quick twitch separation guy,
14:38but he's a contested catch guy in the red zone, so he'll help.
14:41And, you know, they want to see what Antonio Williams can do.
14:43The early signs are promising.
14:45I still think they'll add somebody.
14:46I think Diggs would probably be the pick if they can work it out.
14:49But, you know, he, one, needs real money,
14:52and, two, probably isn't eager to get to training camp this early.
14:56You know, guys like that that are in their 30s can wait a little bit.
14:58So the commanders will have to navigate that.
15:03We can throw out the number for you guys, your first chance to react.
15:06The news broke, frankly, minutes before we came on the air between the two shows
15:10that Stephon Diggs was agreeing to terms with the commanders.
15:13But this has been several months of debating about what they had
15:19and what they needed at receiver.
15:21Right now, Danny, looking at the room where McLaurin is a one,
15:26Diggs is a two, Williams and 11 personnel being shifty in the slot could be a three
15:31or maybe in the red zone, high or low red.
15:33You've got, like, Traylon Burks with his size.
15:35And then other guys for depth, like your kick returner McCaffrey,
15:38your punt returner Lane, if Van Jefferson still makes this roster,
15:42or something like that, you've got to be feeling a lot better today.
15:45100%.
15:46100%.
15:47It now gives you some of that versatility, right?
15:49We talk about this with the defense to a degree where we're going,
15:54who's the green dot?
15:54Well, some plays, you know, the middle linebacker will be this guy,
15:57but another play, that middle linebacker will walk down as a defensive end,
16:00and it's kind of that town hall defense.
16:02You don't know what's what.
16:03Your number three doesn't have to be, I am outside receiver, number three.
16:07It can be, you know, a couple of slot guys.
16:09It can be packages.
16:10It can be, hey, we've got smaller corners.
16:12And we've got a red zone package that includes Traylon Burks or whatever.
16:15It gives you some versatility, and that's number one.
16:18But number two, it slides everybody down to a more appropriate role.
16:21Guys that are threes, fours, fives will now be that instead of going,
16:26shrug your shoulders.
16:27Man, I hope one of them turns into a number two,
16:28and it's got to be more than the, you know,
16:30400 yards Olamide Zaccheaus gave you two years ago
16:33or 200 yards that Jalen Lynn gave you last year.
16:35You just need more dependability, and they got that today.
16:38It's a much different room.
16:40One big beneficiary to the Diggs signing for the Commanders to me is Terry McLaurin.
16:45He has never played with a wide receiver with a resume that resembles anything like Diggs is.
16:51It's not to take away from some of the guys that have come through here,
16:54Hootier, but we're talking about a guy who's a reigning 1,000-yard receiver on the field with you
16:58who can attract attention.
16:59So if you want to bracket and double and really pay attention to Terry McLaurin,
17:03God bless you, go do it.
17:05No problem.
17:06But Diggs can get one-on-one matchups in the slot outside.
17:09He proved last year all the way to the Super Bowl.
17:11He could win in that regard.
17:14This is not a game-breaker anymore.
17:16I don't think this is a 1,200-yard, you know, 14.5, 15-yard-per-catch guy,
17:20but he can absolutely be a volume player underneath, making catches, making plays,
17:24moving the sticks.
17:25Really, really nice addition.
17:27This would have been exciting on day one of free agency.
17:29And for Washington, it comes on August 5th.
17:32If you're just joining us on Grant and Danny, massive and developing news,
17:35the commander's agreeing to a deal with Stephon Diggs.
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