The New England Patriots turned heads on Tuesday, signing Stefon Diggs to a three-year, $69 million contract. Only $26 million is guaranteed.
Diggs, 31, logged 496 yards and three touchdowns across eight starts for the Houston Texans last season before a torn ACL ended his campaign.
There has been a lot of hand-wringing over the price point, but it feels awfully misleading to peg this as a $70 million investment when less than half is actually guaranteed. New England has ways out of this deal if it ages poorly. Plus, Diggs should still have something left in the tank. The year before his injury, when he was the focal point in Buffalo, Diggs put up 1,183 yards and eight touchdowns. That was enough for his fourth straight Pro Bowl.
New England needed wide receiver help in the worst of ways. Drake Maye looked the part of a franchise cornerstone as a rookie, but he impressed in spite of his circumstances, not because of them. If the Patriots can put a real supporting cast around Maye, there's no reason New England can't start winning a lot of games in short order. Mike Vrabel is a good coach. He knows his way around the block.
Diggs should assume a significant target share in the Patriots offense. And, better yet, the health issues of last season will be nothing but a distant memory when Week 1 rolls around.
Patriots WR Stefon Diggs is expected back for Week 1 after suffering torn ACL in 2024
"Diggs, 31, suffered a season-ending ACL injury in Week 8 while with the Houston Texans but is on track to return for Week 1 of the upcoming season," per ESPN.
One day into his Patriots tenure, and a lot of Stefon Diggs concerns have already been alleviated. It's still a rich contract, to be sure, but he won't miss time. New England can proceed with plans for Diggs to immediately assume a significant role in the offense. Maye spent most of last season throwing to rookies and flameouts. Now he gets a chance to throw to one of the most accomplished wideouts in the sport.
There is also an extra thick layer of AFC East drama to this signing. Diggs spent four years in Buffalo. He was a longtime Patriots rival — and a long-suffering malcontent. His relationship with Josh Allen was never as fractured as folks made it out to be, but Diggs infamously responded poorly to postseason losses. Pretty much all wideouts have a flair for the dramatic, so it's par for the course. But Diggs' uneasy feelings about the Bills organization could give him some extra fuel with Buffalo on the schedule twice per season moving forward.
Before his injury in 2024, Diggs averaged 10.6 yards per catch, the second-lowest number of his career. The red flags are real, and it's fair to wonder how successfully he can operate as a true WR1 at this stage of his career. Still, Diggs' experience is invaluable for such a young team and a young quarterback. He brings plenty of corporate know-how to the locker room, and he should produce amply on the field with Maye tossing the pigskin.
These are exciting times in Foxboro.