Certainly one of the highest remaining players in free agency, wide receiver Stefon Diggs has officially come off the market. First reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Diggs has signed a three-year, $69MM contract to affix the Patriots. The deal will include $26MM in guaranteed money.
Diggs’ latest contract is consistent with what he’s been making since 2022, when he signed a four-year, $96MM extension after being traded from the Vikings to the Bills. Following one other trade to the Texans, Diggs agreed to a renegotiated deal that will pay him about $1.5MM less and make him a free agent three years sooner, making 2024 a prove-it season for the veteran wide receiver.
Despite being traded to a deeper depth chart in Houston than he competed with in Buffalo, Diggs only saw a slight drop off in production as a Texan. Through eight games, the 31-year-old hauled in 47 catches for 496 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 62 yards per game, just below his rate from 2023 but still on the right track for a seventh straight 1,000-yard season had he stayed healthy for the complete, 17-game yr.
Unfortunately for each Diggs and Houston, Diggs suffered an ACL tear midway through the 2024 season, an injury which hindered his market value and left Houston with no key member of the WR room. His absence was later compounded by Tank Dell‘s season-ending injury, one which has put Dell’s 2025 availability doubtful. Buoyed by an incredibly deep group that also included Nico Collins, John Metchie, and Robert Woods, the Texans limped into the playoffs, making short work of the Chargers before getting eliminated by the Chiefs.
Despite the season-ending injury, Diggs proved that he still had the power to be a top wide receiver within the NFL. There may be actually an added amount of risk with Diggs getting back from the torn ACL, however it appears the Patriots are willing to overlook it, based on the reported numbers. CardsWire reporter Howard Balzer has since insinuated that the report should read that the contract in value “as much as $69MM,” indicating that a great amount of that cash might be tied into incentives. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network was the primary to edit his initial X post to include those two words, “as much as.”
This will surely make sense as teams aren’t apt to supply long-term, big money deals to veterans of their 30’s coming off a season-ending injury. Still, a three-year contract with $26MM of guarantees does appear to suggest a level of dedication to Diggs that’s consistent with the $23MM per yr. Schefter tells us that general manager Eliot Wolf agreed to this deal because Diggs is reportedly on the right track for a Week 1 return in 2025, after suffering the injury in Week 8 of 2024. Mike Giardi of the Boston Sports Journal seemed skeptical of that recovery timeline, though, calling it “overly aggressive.”
Despite having Nico Collins attached to a lucrative long-term deal, Texans general manager Nick Caserio said last month the team would consider keeping Diggs within the fold on a brand new contract. No deal developed, leading Diggs to explore his options and take a visit with the Patriots last week. Departing from Latest England, it appeared that there was no imminent deal between Diggs and the Patriots on the horizon, but later reports clarified that this was just on account of a scarcity of urgency between the 2 parties.
Regardless, Latest England has made the move with the intention of providing second-year quarterback Drake Maye with a real No. 1 wide receiver. Diggs joins a young receiving corps that features Demario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte, Kendrick Bourne, Mack Hollins, and Ja’Lynn Polk. Maye also has a fairly dependable stable of tight ends with Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper.
The Patriots have been fairly big spenders this offseason, mostly bringing in free agents on the defensive side of the ball like defensive tackle Milton Williams, cornerback Carlton Davis, pass rusher Harold Landry, and linebacker Robert Spillane. Diggs joins other veteran offensive additions in offensive tackle Morgan Moses, center Garrett Bradbury, backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs, and Hollins.
