When Diggs signed in New England a year ago, the pick was somewhat of a surprise in the Patriots’ big spending effort. The three-year, $63.5 million deal was always likely to last one year because of the way New England structured it, pushing most of his cap space into the second and third years, allowing the Patriots to fit Diggs right into their cap space while retaining a chance to keep him if Diggs had a career season and was worth keeping at such a pace.
To Diggs’ credit, he exceeded most expectations in his first and only season in New England. Diggs caught 85 passes for 1,013 yards and four touchdowns in 17 regular-season games while serving as the emotional, experienced leader the young Patriots needed. Although he was largely prevented from making a difference in Super Bowl LX (three catches for 37 yards), it’s fair to wonder if the Patriots will make it to the final game of the 2025 NFL season without him. His teammates’ positive words about him the week before Super Bowl LX underscored that sentiment, and nearly a month after the loss to the Seattle Seahawks, coach Mike Vrabel had a positive review of the veteran.
“Well, I mean, not just his future, but what he was able to do for us and come in and provide leadership,” Vrabel said Feb. 25 at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. “He worked really hard while he was rehabbing the knee. I think he was just a really good presence every week.”
Diggs turns 33 in November and is coming off a 1,000-yard season in which he still displayed many of the skills that made him a star in Minnesota and Buffalo. He joins a receiver group that includes a number of notable names, including Tyreek Hill, Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel, DeAndre Hopkins, Christian Kirk and Jauan Jennings.
As he enters free agency, Diggs also has an upcoming hearing on April 1 after pleading not guilty last month to strangulation and other criminal charges stemming from an alleged altercation with his chef.