After four years of sharing the field, Bills quarterback Josh Allen said it was “hard to part ways” with Stefon Diggs following his trade to the Houston Texans.

HOUSTON — Josh Allen was not sound asleep when the Buffalo Bills traded All-Pro wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans on April 3. He was awake when he received the news of Diggs’ departure and immediately picked up the phone to text his former teammate — who he considers his “brother.”

Allen told reporters in Buffalo Thursday morning that Diggs meant a lot to the organization despite rumors that the 30-year-old wide receiver was unhappy.

“Just thanking him for everything that he did for me — I’ll always have a spot in my heart for him,” Allen said. “It’s definitely hard to part ways with a guy that’s been very instrumental in our success here over the last four years.”

Diggs spent four seasons with the Bills and established himself as Allen’s top target in the passing game. He played 65 games alongside the All-Pro quarterback, recording 445 catches for 5,372 yards and 37 touchdowns — ranking first in each statistical category for the Bills.

In 2023, Diggs recorded his sixth consecutive 1,000-yard season. The veteran wideout caught 107 balls for 1,183 yards and eight touchdowns in his final year with the franchise.

Allen viewed Diggs’ trade as “the nature of the business,” given that the Bills made several significant roster changes this off-season. In addition to Diggs, Allen lost his second-most reliable target Gabe Davis, who signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars as a free agent in March.

“I wish we can keep everybody; we’ve made a lot of changes this offseason, lost a lot of veteran leadership,” Allen said. “I guess that’s the nature of the business. It’s just kind of what it is. I don’t get paid to make changes on the team. I get paid to be the best quarterback that I can be and try to lead the guys on this team.”

While Allen spent the morning of April 3 trying to process the news of Diggs, Texans’ Pro Bowl quarterback C.J. Stroud was asleep in his Los Angeles residence when the news broke.

Stroud said it wasn’t until he checked Instagram that he learned of the deal that landed Houston Diggs in exchange for a 2025 second-round pick (via the Minnesota Vikings), a 2024 sixth-round pick and a 2025 fifth-round pick.