As the New England Patriots look to fill some of their roster holes when free agency opens in a couple of weeks, it remains unclear if Stefon Diggs will remain with the team or in his spot as the No. 1 wide receiver if he does return.
Per Andrew Callahan and Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald, it’s not a guarantee that Diggs returns to the Patriots in 2026 even though there are people in the organization who view his current contract as “fair enough he could continue to play on it.”
Some Patriots evaluators view Diggs as a “declining player” given his age and lackluster performance in the postseason, leaving open the possibility of a contract restructure or a potential split either via trade or release.
While the defending AFC champs figure out what to do with Diggs, Callahan and Kyed also noted they won’t necessarily be as aggressive in free agency as they were last year but they plan to pursue second-tier pass-rushers.
Specifically, Boye Mafe and Joseph Ossai were cited as potential targets, particularly if the Patriots are unable to retain K’Lavon Chaisson.
Mark Daniels and Karen Guregian of MassLive.com added that the Patriots plan to have Diggs’ situation resolved “in the coming weeks” since he is owed $6 million in guaranteed money on March 13.
However, the same report notes that Diggs is “unwilling” to restructure his contract because he feels he did enough to warrant playing on the deal after leading the Patriots in receptions (85) and receiving yards (1,013) last season.
If Diggs is unable to come to terms with the Patriots and ends up getting released, it adds another wrinkle to their offseason plans. Their receiver depth chart without him includes Kayshon Boutte, Kyle Williams and Mack Hollins.
After starting last offseason with an NFL-high $121.1 million in cap space, the Patriots put in some work to fix their roster. Their $364.4 million in contract spending was nearly $100 million more than any other team.
Those moves paid off because players like Diggs, Milton Williams, Carlton Davis and Harold Landry were big pieces for their run to the Super Bowl, but that does leave them with much less wiggle room this offseason.
New England currently has $35.3 million in cap space. ESPN’s Ben Solak did rank edge-rusher as the best position going into free agency because of the depth of players available, so the Patriots could have their pick of players to choose from.
Free agency is always a crap shoot, but the Patriots were able to roll a hard eight last year. They may not be aiming as high this offseason, though their expectations have changed dramatically after getting to the Super Bowl.