Only a few days removed from watching Deebo Samuel sign a contract with the San Francisco 49ers, the Washington Commanders appear to have found some veteran pass catching depth of their own. Washington and free agent WR Stefon Diggs have come to terms on a 1 year deal, worth up to $12M on Wednesday.
It will mark the third time in as many seasons that Diggs has inked a deal with a new team, though this one can be chalked up as a homecoming of sorts for the 32 year old. Diggs was born in Washington and played collegiately for Maryland, meaning he’ll be no stranger to the DC area when he reports to training camp this week.
A 4x Pro Bowler, Diggs is coming off an 85 catch, 1,013 yard season with the New England Patriots in 2025. While he’s unlikely to repeat his 127 reception, 1,535 yard season with Buffalo in 2020, Diggs will give the Commanders a proven pass catcher to line up opposite of Terry McLaurin this season.
Washington’s lack of pass catchers became evident last year when McLaurin went down for an extended period of time with a quad injury. That depth was tested even further still when Noah Brown subsequently missed 13 games as a result of knee and groin injuries himself.
The result? A stunning reversal of records, going from 12-5 in 2024 (a season in which they reached the NFC Championship game), to 5-12 last year.
In an effort to avoid seeing the same situation play out again, the Commanders selected WR Antonio Williams in the 3rd round of this year’s draft out of Clemson. His addition, plus the Diggs signing means Washington will have options beyond Luke McCaffrey, Treylon Burks, and Jacoby Jones should the injury bug pop up again in 2026.
This of course assumes that Diggs will be able to stay out of off field trouble this fall. After recently being found not guilty of a felony strangulation charge stemming from a dispute with a personal chef, the former Vikings standout is now embroiled in civil case with Christopher Blake Griffith stemming from sexual assault allegations.
Nevertheless, the signing likely ends the slim possibility that the Commanders could bring in disgruntled 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk this season as well.
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