Insider Says Patriots Had No Choice But To Sign Stefon Diggs

New England Patriots reporter Chad Graff of The Athletic wrote his opinion on the team’s “6 best moves of the offseason” on Monday morning.

Among them was New England’s decision to sign wide receiver Stefon Diggs to a three-year, $69 million contract.

Graff acknowledged that the move was risky, but the team may have had no other choice.

“This move came with plenty of risk, so it certainly wasn’t a no-brainer. But I give the Patriots props for bringing in Diggs, even at 31 years old and coming off an ACL tear. Why? There were basically no other options,” he wrote. “They wanted Chris Godwin, but he turned down their massive offer to return to Tampa Bay. The trade market was barren. The draft class was weak at wide receiver. Simply put, it was a bad offseason to need a top-end wide receiver.”

Graff added that the decision could pay big dividends, as the four-time Pro Bowler “might still be a 1,000-yard receiver and can bring proven experience their receiver room has lacked.”

Diggs earned all of his Pro Bowl honors from 2020-23 with the Buffalo Bills, but was limited to eight games in his lone season with the Houston Texans before tearing his right ACL in October.

It’s still too early to tell what kind of production Diggs will have this fall. Patriots fans did receive good news recently, however, when it was reported that the marquee offseason addition should be ready to go for the first day of practice on Wednesday.