Nostalgia will be on overdrive Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium, as the Minnesota Vikings are holding their annual Legends’ Weekend and inducting Purple People Eaters-era cornerback Bobby Bryant into the Vikings Ring of Honor.
But there’s another Vikings legend who is still an active player, and he’ll also be coming back to the building he once called home. The only difference between him and those honorees is that each party will be holding back those nostalgic feelings — for now.
Stefon Diggs, currently a receiver for the visiting Houston Texans, is returning to the scene of the Minneapolis Miracle for the first time since being traded from Minnesota to Buffalo in March 2020.
Here’s a closer look at Diggs’ time in Minnesota, his trade away from the franchise, and where both sides stand now heading into Week 3 of the 2024 NFL season.
What Did the Minnesota Vikings Get in Return for Trading Stefon Diggs?
Diggs is a household name across the NFL now, but that’s not how his career began. The Vikings selected Diggs out of the University of Maryland with a fifth-round pick in 2015. Diggs was an inactive player for the Vikings in the first three weeks of his rookie season.
It was in Week 4 against the Denver Broncos when Diggs saw his first regular-season action as a pro. He was targeted 10 times that day, collecting six catches for 87 yards without a touchdown. It was about the last time he was an innocuous part of an NFL offense.
The following week, he caught seven passes and registered his first 100-yard receiving game. Then, against the Detroit Lions one week after that, Diggs burst onto the scene with nine grabs for 108 yards and his first career touchdown, a highlight-caliber one at that in which he left his feet and extended his arms to secure a pass and dive into the end zone.
From that point forward, Diggs was a bona fide playmaker. He finished his rookie season with 52 receptions for 720 yards and four touchdowns.
Diggs would go on to star for the Vikings and join Adam Thielen to give the Vikings one of the NFL’s most dynamic and productive wide receiver duos for the ensuing five seasons.
All told for Diggs, he tallied 365 catches for 4,623 yards and 30 touchdowns in 70 games for the Vikings.
Acrimony and tension reached a tipping point in the 2020 offseason, however, when it became apparent that a separation between the Vikings and Diggs was in the best interests of both teams.
Then-Vikings general manager Rick Spielman consummated a blockbuster trade with the Buffalo Bills that sent Diggs to the AFC and a bunch of draft selections to the Vikings.
Here’s what each team received in the trade:
Buffalo Received
- WR Stefon Diggs
- 2020 seventh-round pick
Minnesota Received
- 2020 first-round pick (Justin Jefferson)
- 2020 fifth-round pick
- 2020 sixth-round pick
- 2021 fourth-round pick
Vikings Turn Diggs Tension into Justin Jefferson Acquisition
Unsurprisingly, Diggs went to Buffalo and continued to make plays. He paired with quarterback Josh Allen and the duo was productive together, as Diggs caught 445 passes and 37 touchdowns in four seasons.
The Vikings utilized the 2020 first-round pick they acquired from Buffalo in exchange for Diggs to select a franchise-altering offensive weapon. With the No. 22 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Vikings selected former LSU wide receiver Justin Jefferson.
While there is no denying Diggs had a significant impact on the organization during his tenure in Minnesota, there’s also no denying the Vikings came out of the other side of the Diggs trade looking great.
After Minnesota traded multiple times, the Stefon Diggs trade is now complete…#Bills received:
Stefon Diggs
Dane Jackson#Vikings received:
Justin Jefferson, WR
Kenny Willekes, DE
Camryn Bynum, CB
Janarius Robinson, DE
Zach Davidson, TE#BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/9J0azxR3NW— Kurt Haumesser (@KurtHaumesser88)
Jefferson went on to set the record for most receiving yards by a rookie in NFL history with 1,400. In his second season, Jefferson topped the 100-catch mark with 108 grabs and increased his yardage and touchdown totals from the season prior with 1,616 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns.
In 62 games played for the Vikings, Jefferson has 400 receptions for 6,091 yards and 32 touchdowns, well on his way to one day being honored among the franchise’s greats on a future Legends’ Weekend.
Bynum’s inclusion in the calculus of this trade should not be overlooked. He’s played in 59 games with 30 starts — all for the Vikings. He’s been credited with 258 tackles, three of them for a loss, as well as 18 passes defensed, five interceptions, three forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.
Remembering the Minneapolis Miracle
The Minneapolis Miracle isn’t just an iconic play in Vikings history. It’s the kind of play that will live in NFL lore.
And it’s a play that will be relived countless times on Sunday as the Vikings host Diggs for the first time since trading him to Buffalo.
Following a 13-3 season in 2017, the Vikings were hosting the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Divisional Round. In an instant classic, the Saints pulled ahead 24-23 via a Will Lutz field goal with 25 seconds to play. It looked as if the Saints were about to pull off an upset and advance to the NFC Championship Game, ending a storybook Vikings’ season.
It would take a miracle for the Vikings to pull off a victory.
And that’s exactly what Diggs and Co. pulled off.
A forever iconic moment.@stefondiggs returns to Minnesota this week for the first time as an opponent since the "Minneapolis Miracle."
📺: #HOUvsMIN – Sunday 1pm ET on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/BY14AY1WkM— NFL (@NFL)
On 3rd-and-10 from their own 39-yard line with only 10 seconds to go, quarterback Case Keenum (who is also on the current Texans roster) dropped back and connected with Diggs down the right sideline.
Diggs left his feet to secure the catch and came down maintaining his balance along the sideline. He then turned upfield as defensive back Marcus Williams flew past him, and the rest is history.
Diggs sprinted to the end zone for a thrilling, improbable 61-yard touchdown as time expired to give the Vikings a 29-24 win.
