Wide receiver Stefon Diggs spoke with local media in Foxborough Wednesday, and he made it a point to address lingering questions about his expectations for his role within the Patriots offense and his preparedness for Week 1 of the NFL season.
Diggs first clarified an answer he gave to The Athletic’s Diana Russini earlier in the summer about whether or not he would be healthy for the start of the season and said his unclear response at the time was a tongue-in-cheek comment.
“I didn’t want to give any information when talking about an injury. We don’t talk about injuries. Coach [Mike Vrabel] always says, don’t talk about injuries. We don’t talk about anything we’ve got going on. Keep the focus on team,” he said. “Speak for yourself. When I was talking about myself, you know, you don’t want to let the opposition know what’s going on. Obviously, if it was hazy, it was for a good reason. I didn’t mean any hurt, harm, or danger to anybody. It was more like, you don’t want the opposition to see you coming, do you? And, it was playful. It wasn’t really like, if you watched the interview, it was more sarcastic and playful. We have a good relationship.”
Weeks ago, receivers coach Todd Downing praised Diggs’ rehab process following last season’s ACL tear, but mentioned a focus for him on “learning the system.”
So, how confident is Diggs in his knowledge of Josh McDaniels’ famously dense playbook?
“I think there were some concerns in OTAs, and stuff like that, people talking about the playbook,” he said. “It’s like, my life here. Studying, it gets tedious, but if you dedicate your time to it, it will come full circle. People don’t factor in how it’s kind of like school. It’s easy to be in the classroom. Many of us have taken tests. Right before the test, you study a little bit, go ace it. But you have to factor in going outside, getting tired, running routes, you know, being mentally sharp.”
“For me,” he continued, “I feel 100% confident. You can never get too confident, or too complacent, you’ve have to continue to flip those pages.”
After a summer in which he largely stayed away from the microphone, Diggs said he expects to be more available to the media going forward.
“If I rubbed anybody the wrong way, I really want to apologize. Moving forward, obviously, we have a media-to-player relationship. I want to be as professional as a I can be. I want to make myself available each and every week.”
When asked whether Diggs will be on a play count, the receiver exclaimed, “Hell no,” and laughed.