Patriots: Could a Stefon Diggs trade have kept Tom Brady in New England?

Would trading for Stefon Diggs last offseason have been enough to keep Tom Brady with the Patriots?

When the Bills traded for wide receiver Stefon Diggs last offseason, many analysts believed it was the icing on the cake in terms of them solidifying their superiority over the Patriots.

Unloading four draft picks for a wideout is normally frowned upon from a front office perspective, but it shortly proved to be one of the best trades of the offseason, as Diggs went on to enjoy the most successful campaign of his career by a wide margin.

As it turns out, however, it was those four draft picks that ultimately dissuaded the Patriots from pulling the trigger on a potential deal for him. It was reported a few days ago that they were in the running for Diggs, but pulled out after Minnesota asked them to match the Bills’ loaded offer, which included their first-, fourth-, fifth- and sixth-round selections in 2021.

As if that wasn’t debilitating enough for Patriots fans, this latest nugget of the blockbuster deal will likely make them feel even worse. Care to guess what happened the day after the Diggs trade was finalized? Tom Brady announced his intentions to test free agency.

A couple of days later, Brady inked a two-year, $50 million contract with the Buccaneers. The timing of his departure appears to have lined up with the Patriots backing out of the Diggs sweepstakes, so it’s certainly worth pondering if he would’ve stayed had they went the extra mile to acquire the All-Pro receiver.

The craziest part about all of this? The Patriots traded their first- and fourth-round picks, used their fifth-round pick on Justin Rohrwasser, who they cut, and had multiple sixth-rounders (one of which was used on Michael Onwenu, but we’d venture to say they could’ve easily still gotten him).

We’re of the mindset that Brady made up his mind to leave the Patriots well before March 16 amid his reported growing tension with the franchise, but landing Diggs — especially since it would’ve prevented Buffalo, seemingly the only team standing in their way of the division crown, from acquiring him — might have been enough for him to at least consider re-signing with the Pats.

The Patriots’ offense obviously had its deficiencies, but, as Diggs proved this year with Buffalo, you have to think he would’ve been the ultimate difference-maker. After all, he led the league in receptions (127), receiving yards (1,535) and targets (166), and finished fourth in first downs (73) and catch rate among wideouts with at least 40 receptions (76.5%).

Maybe trading for Diggs wouldn’t have been enough to change Brady’s mind, but the fact that the deal and his departure came just days apart will no doubt leave the fan base thinking about what could have been had they matched Buffalo’s offer.

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