In his first season in New England, wide receiver Stefon Diggs quickly became one of the Patriots’ most important players both on and off the field.
Coming off an ACL tear, Diggs led the team with 85 receptions and 1,013 yards last season. He became the first Patriots wide receiver to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark since 2019 while also emerging as a leading voice in the locker room.
But entering the offseason, the Patriots have a decision to make regarding his future.
Diggs will see his cap hit rise to $26.5 million this season. However, just $1.7 million of that is currently guaranteed, before Diggs would receive an additional $6 million in guarantees on March 13. Releasing the 32-year old would free up more than $16 million in cap space, which led Diggs himself to note after the Super Bowl that his future is not entirely in his hands.
Speaking at the NFL Combine on Tuesday, Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf did not provide additional clarity on Diggs’ future.
“I’m not going to get into any specific players today,” Wolf said. “You know, there are certain conversations that we’re having, and we’ll see what happens with everything.
“Stef had a tremendous season. Again, the leadership that he showed was great. These are conversations that we’ll continue to have and weigh everything in and talk about different things as we move forward.”
Part of that conversation will also include monitoring Diggs’ legal situation. He pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of strangulation and a charge of misdemeanor assault and battery and is due for a pretrial hearing on April 1.
“We’re monitoring those situations, and we’ll just kind of see what comes of it,” Wolf said. “I know we had a hearing last week or two weeks ago. But yeah, we’re monitoring those situations not only with our legal and security department, but also with Stefon’s people as well.”
After New England’s offense struggled down the stretch in the playoffs, the team will look for upgrades at wide receiver this offseason. If the Patriots and Diggs ultimately part ways, that need would only increase.
“Obviously having more playmakers is a good thing, so yes, we are looking at the wide receiver position to try to improve depth and at the top as well,” Wolf said. “But also, when you run your offense and you have one of these number one receivers, the quarterback can get in trouble by trying to force the ball to that person.
“I know the way Josh [McDaniels} has built the offense out, you’re supposed to throw the ball to the open guy, and that’s what we were able to do this year. Obviously, there’s a hierarchy of players who play the most snaps and things like that, but to answer your question, the more playmakers we have, the better we’re going to be.”