Stefon Diggs‘ lone season in New England went mostly as well as anyone could have reasonably expected.
Coming off a torn ACL that limited him to eight games with the Houston Texans, Diggs bounced back with a team-leading 85 receptions for 1,013 yards and 4 touchdowns while helping the Patriots to the Super Bowl.
Not bad for a 32-year-old receiver coming off a major knee injury.
And yet, it also wasn’t surprising the Patriots decided to get out of his expensive (but not salary cap-punitive) contract after one year and release the veteran wide receiver to get younger at the position.
The reality is Diggs wasn’t exactly a reliable week-to-week No. 1 WR. He had five 100-yard games, but he also had nine games with 46 or fewer yards, including six with under 30 receiving yards.
And then in the postseason, he was nearly a non-factor with 14 catches for 110 yards and 1 TD in four games — held to 40 yards or fewer in each.
Releasing Diggs saved the Patriots $16.8 million against the salary cap (with $9.7 million in dead money remaining).
They then used that to sign free agent wide receiver Romeo Doubs for a four-year, $68-million contract that notably averages out to … $17 million/year.
Doubs isn’t a No. 1 WR either, of course, but he’s about to turn 26 and likely isn’t the final move the team plans to make — we went in-depth here on the buzz that New England is pursuing a post-June 1 trade for the Eagles’ A.J. Brown and why their offseason now hinges on that.
As for Diggs, it’s far less clear what his next best move will be at this point.
It doesn’t help that not only did he underwhelm in the playoffs but also is still involved in a serious legal matter. Diggs pleaded not guilty last month to felony strangulation and other criminal charges stemming from an alleged dispute with his personal chef. Diggs, through his lawyer, has maintained full innocence and is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing on April 1.
It’s hard to know how that factors into teams’ evaluation of him as a free agent, so we’ll just stick to football logic in assessing potential landing spots for the four-time Pro Bowl WR.
Logical Landing Spots For Free Agent WR Stefon Diggs
1. Baltimore Ravens
If Diggs is going to have to settle for a one-year, prove-it contract, what better spot than a Super Bowl contender with a two-time MVP at quarterback that badly needs an upgraded second WR option.
Zay Flowers is the Ravens’ top target and had 86 catches for 1,211 yards and 5 TDs last season despite Jackson missing significant time with injury, but aside from tight end Mark Andrews there isn’t a clear No. 2 WR on the roster.
It was aging veteran DeAndre Hopkins last season, but he only caught 22 passes for 330 yards and 2 TDs and is now a free agent as well. Rashod Bateman was limited to 13 games and a 19-224-2 line, but he isn’t a very exciting No. 2 WR for a team with Super Bowl ambitions.
Diggs would be a good fit here. Also, he grew up in Maryland and went to the University of Maryland, so he might see the appeal in returning home late in his career.
2. Philadelphia Eagles
We also noted Philadelphia as a prime landing spot for fellow free agent wideout Jauan Jennings if the Eagles trade star WR A.J. Brown after June 1, as is widely expected. But the same applies for Diggs.
Philadelphia will need to find someone to pair on the outside with DeVonta Smith while not counting too heavily on newly signed well-traveled veteran Hollywood Brown, who had 49 catches for 587 yards and 5 TDs last season in Kansas City. That’s the kind of production the Eagles should expect as well, meaning Diggs could still fill the need for a top-end No. 2 WR.
3. Washington Commanders
The Commanders don’t look likely to bring back Deebo Samuel, who is a free agent after one season with the team, and the only two WRs they’ve added in free agency were Dyami Brown and Van Jefferson on cheap one-year contracts worth less than $2 million each.
Washington simply doesn’t have a No. 2 WR right now to pair with Terry McLaurin, unless it plans to find that player through the NFL draft, holding the No. 7 overall pick.
This would be another mutual-sensible pairing, as Washington was in the NFC championship game just two years ago, has a dynamic young quarterback in Jayden Daniels and has significantly upgraded its roster this offseason (especially on defense).
Also, the heading home factor applies here too for the Maryland native.
4. Tennessee Titans
New Titans offensive coordinator Brian Daboll was Buffalo’s offensive coordinator from 2018-21, a stretch that included Diggs’ career-bests season when he caught 127 passes for 1,535 yards and 8 TDs for the Bills in 2020.
The Titans already spent big one free agent wide receiver with ties to Daboll in Wan’Dale Robinson (4 years, $70 million), but that unit could stand another upgrade with the top returning WRs being Calvin Ridley (17-303-0 in just seven games), Elic Ayomanor (41-515-4) and Chimere Dike (48-423-4).
The Titans aren’t expected to contend for anything this season, so maybe it wouldn’t be Diggs’ first choice, but he may not end up with a ton of options in the end.
With Robinson primarily a slot weapon, Diggs and Ridley could form a nice tandem on the outside for second-year QB Cam Ward — if the price is right for Tennessee. The Titans still have plenty of money under the salary cap to work with for 2026.
5. New England Patriots
The Patriots have publicly not ruled out bringing Diggs back while wanting to keep all options on the table.
This would be more of a contingency plan, though, if the potential trade for Brown doesn’t end up happening. And nothing should ever be assumed, especially more than two months out from that June 1 window.
It wouldn’t be ideal, but if the Patriots can’t land Brown and bring back Diggs on a lesser contract, they can spin that paired with the Doubs acquisition as an overall upgrade and win.
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