The New England Patriots overhauled their wide receiver room this offseason, signing free agent Romeo Doubs, then trading for star wideout A.J. Brown. However, when speaking with the media, head coach Mike Vrabel didn’t rule out the possibility of bringing back veteran pass catcher Stefon Diggs to round out their group.
“I wouldn’t say anything is off the table,” Vrabel said Wednesday. “We would want to add anybody that could help us. I’m not gonna give a percentage on it, but I think we’re happy with where we’re at right now with the numbers and the people in the receiver room.”
“I appreciate Stefon as a person and as a player and what he did for us last year. I’ll value that. Helped us win football games, helped us get to where we got, but right now I don’t think that that’s something that, you know, that we are exploring, but I would never say no.”
The Patriots released Diggs this offseason in part to create financial flexibility, while also protecting themselves amidst Diggs’ off-field legal troubles. The 32 year old was involved in an alleged assault case stemming from a financial dispute with a personal chef.
However, a jury found him not guilty of all criminal charges in May, seemingly paving the way for an NFL return this fall. The league could of course review the matter and issue additional discipline as per their personal conduct policy, however the head office has remained fairly quiet on the issue to date.
Diggs caught 85 passes for 1,013 yards and 4 TDs in 2025, leading the team in targets, catches, receiving yards, yards per game, and yards after the catch. Originally signed to a 3 year, $63.5M contract prior to last season, Diggs was only guaranteed $22.6M of his deal, which allowed New England a fairly clean out this offseason.
While it was a solid bounce back season following a major injury for the 4x Pro Bowler, he would likely need to be willing to take a substantial pay cut if the two sides were to reunite this summer. Nevertheless, Diggs will be part of an interesting veteran pass catching group that will be watching training camps closely over the next few months.
Diggs, Tyreek Hill, Deebo Samuel, Keenan Allen, and DeAndre Hopkins all remain uncommitted for 2026. All five are on the wrong side of 30, and are likely to catch on via a 1 year “prove it” deal or multi-year contract with voidable years as teams get a better handle on what their pass catching groups look like.
Whether that offer ultimately comes from Foxborough or somewhere else will be a situation Patriots fans will keep an eye on as the weather warms up.
Photo: Keith Allison. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.