Let's not make this any harder than it has to. Fresh off the worst season of his NFL career, veteran wider receiver Stefon Diggs should be eager to prove himself with the New England Patriots. While he did sign a three-year deal worth $63.5 million this past offseason to come play in Foxborough, there is a non-zero chance that he never plays for the Patriots. Team insider Greg A. Bedard has thoughts...
Bedard wrote about this earlier in the week for the Boston Sports Journal. He hinted that while Diggs should be a certifiable lock to make the Patriots' roster as a vibrant part of their receiving corps, he did mention that there is a chance somebody could try to trade for him. He put the percentage chance on Diggs sticking with New England "at about 95 percent." It is five percent more than zero...
Along with Mack Hollins and Kyle Williams, Bedard would be stunned if Diggs did not make the team.
“Diggs, (Mack) Hollins and (Kyle) Williams are the stone-cold locks. I am, however, not guaranteeing that Diggs is on this roster, although I would put it at about 95 percent. My only allowance: the team isn’t thrilled with Diggs, for whatever reason, a legit No. 1 becomes available, and Diggs goes out in a trade for the new No. 1 WR. Long shot, but I’m not totally ruling it out."
He then continued by saying that Kendrick Bourne and DeMario Douglas are essentially locks, too.
“Bourne and Douglas are the near-locks. I think the team would listen to trade offers on Bourne, Douglas, Polk, Boutte and Baker (good luck). I’m giving Polk another year to prove himself, but that could end quickly and he could be traded."
Bedard finished by saying rookie wide receiver Efton Chism III has a shot to make the roster as well.
“Chism makes the team, but we still need to see him in pads. If his film is good in the preseason, they might not be able to get him to the practice squad. And he might like someone else’s p-squad offer, like from a West Coast team (hometown Seahawks, Rams, Chargers, 49ers etc).”
No matter what happens, this year is about one thing in New England, and it is Drake Maye growing.
Trading Stefon Diggs would be so awful for Drake Maye's NFL career
While I would argue that I am higher than most on the Patriots heading into this season, New England is still not a team I am expecting to make the playoffs. Even if they were to have a better than expected season, that would probably result in a second-place finish in the AFC East and maybe a No. 6 or 7 seed in the AFC playoff picture. This team is not yet ready to compete, but it is improving.
That being said, I think trading Diggs ahead of his first year with the team would set a terrible precedent. He decided to come back into the AFC East after one down year in Houston. This may be a way to stick it to Buffalo, but Diggs has much bigger fish to fry than to merely be petty. However, we all know the Patriots are going nowhere if Maye ends up being a massive waste of talent for them.
It is why even if the chemistry does not manifest into all that much, under no circumstances should the Patriots even be considering trading away Diggs this soon. If it does not work after year one, then go right ahead. Again, the only thing that matters for the Patriots this season is for Maye to show signs of growth and progress. Anything beyond that is gravy. Anything short of that is not acceptable.
Diggs' arrival was never going to be panacea, but a swift New England departure would be disastrous.