One of the major storylines of this offseason for the Patriots is whatever the future holds for wide receiver Stefon Diggs in New England.
While set to face criminal charges off the field, Diggs will also be turning 33 years old towards the end of the 2026 season.
Depending on how things wind up for him in court, the decision on whether or not he's back in New England might be made for him and the team by the justice system.
If he’s found innocent, the Patriots will still be faced with the question of whether or not they’d like to bring back an aging pass catcher on his current deal ($26.5 million cap hit each of the next two seasons), despite not looking like the 1,000-yard receiver he was in 2025 over the last month-plus.
For a player who has drama routinely following him regardless of the uniform he’s wearing, Diggs ended up emerging as the unquestioned vocal leader for a team that came up just one win shy of their seventh Lombardi Trophy in franchise history.
Is that juice worth the squeeze?
NBC Sports Boston’s Tom E. Curran was asked what he thought about the Diggs situation when he joined Jones and Keefe on Tuesday.
“Do you think Stef Diggs will be back with the team next year?” asked WEEI’s Rich Keefe.
“I think they're going to explore options to figure out if they can upgrade that position,” said Curran. “It's a fairly significant number for him, both in terms of bonuses and cap hit. So I guess what I'm saying, Keefe, is I'm going to punt on whether or not I think he's going to be back.
“I think they'll try to improve it. If they can improve it, they'll improve it. Better, cheaper, younger is what Vrabel stated. And I think that your X-receiver is a place that you would try to do that. Would he want to come back on a smaller number? A different kind of deal? Are they interested in having him? I mean, his leadership on-field was excellent. Beyond excellent, and certainly beyond expectations for everyone, myself certainly included in that. But I think that they're going to look at that as they will everything else. It's hard for me to say who's going to be back and who isn't, because you have to upgrade the position instead of just changing it out for the hell of it.”
“I agree,” said Keefe. “I think Steph Diggs was good. He was healthy all year, which was a pleasant surprise. 1,000 yards - first 1,000-yard receiver since [Julian] Edelman in 2019 - so I thought he was good. I want him back.
“I wouldn't be surprised if they changed the contract to sort of help him and help themselves a little bit. Because the true upgrades of Steph Diggs would be, what, like A.J. Brown? Maybe Mike Evans? Maybe Alec Pierce? But that would be a ton of money, because he's a free agent. George Pickens would have to be a big trade, because they franchise tagged him there in Dallas. And then, I don't know if you can just rely on your first round pick as even being an upgrade. That's why I point to him being back, because I don't know how readily available anybody that's definitely better than him will be out there.”
“Exactly the same thing I'm thinking,” said Curran. “Upgrade it if you can. If you can't, at least you have a guy there.
“Now, they have to decide on who is spackle on the wall, and who is part of the wallboard. And I would probably guess that Diggs is spackle. It's good spackle, but is it spackle long-term? You don't want to have spackle long-term. Nobody wants that. So I continue to look at the Jakobi Meyers decision - not just last offseason, when they probably could have made a run at him, but at the trade deadline, where the compensation wasn't ridiculous.”
As a reminder, the Jaguars acquired the former Patriots receiver from the Raiders in November in exchange for a fourth-round pick and sixth-round pick in this spring’s draft. After acquiring Meyers, Jacksonville’s offense settled into place, and they ended up finishing the regular season with a surprising 13-4 record and a home playoff game against the Bills.
“[Patriots could have signed him] to what Jacksonville did, which is a three-year, $60 million contract,” said Curran. “$20 million [a year] for a guy who's going to have 85 catches and 850 yards, be an excellent downfield blocker and be reliable at 30. And I contended that I would have liked Jakobi Meyers for a longer term than Diggs, and I contended during the season - I would have traded Diggs for Meyers. So I guess the point I'm making with Meyers is, the Patriots adhered at the trade deadline, and are going to continue to adhere to a methodical approach, which I don't blame them for.”
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