What is all this talk about the Patriots trading for wide receiver Stefon Diggs?

The past two weeks have been quite a whirlwind for the Buffalo Bills and their seemingly tension-filled relationship with star receiver Stefon Diggs.

The issues have been allegedly brewing since the Bills' loss to the Bengals in the divisional round playoffs earlier this year. Diggs was seen on the sideline having words with a stoic Josh Allen, and it was reported the receiver left the facility ahead of the rest of the team.

Although Allen has continued to speak glowingly of his teammate since that incident in January, it appears the relationship between Diggs and the coaching staff is not feeling that same love, at least from what has been seen in recent days.

As the Bills finished their final minicamp practices last week, head coach Sean McDermott acknowledged Diggs' absence and labeled it "concerning." That created headlines everywhere, and began to question his position on the team, which would be an unfavorable situation for the Bills to be in, considering how much they rely on Diggs on game day.

But that's just where the drama began.

Things appear to be a bit rocky between the Bills and Diggs right now

NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported shortly after McDermott's press conference that Diggs had been in the building the day before and that morning. His agent later revealed his client had even spoken to coaches and the general manager and intended to be present for the rest of the practices that week.

This kicked off a storm of backtracking from McDermott and the Bills organization, attempting to clarify the "confusion" they tried to twist into being created by the media. However, it still appears there is some unhappiness from Diggs due to all the drama and publicity it caused.

So that has created several debates on whether the Bills could potentially trade Diggs if things continue to look bleak between the team and the receiver.

Could the Patriots trade for Diggs?

What are the chances of the Bills even wanting to trade the most significant piece of their offense as they attempt to make the Super Bowl once again?

Other than the fact that Buffalo would be absolutely bonkers to trade Diggs for nearly any reason, his contract is certainly not trade-friendly, which was likely made that way purposely.

After signing a four-year, $96,000,000 contract during the offseason last year, it seemed like Diggs would retire from the NFL as a Buffalo Bill. The way his contract is set up, it's clear that this is the plan by both sides, especially when looking at the amount of dead cap the team would take on if they tried to move on from him for any reason.

For the 2023 season, he has a cap hit of $14,875,111, which isn't too bad of a price for any team to pick up, considering the talent they'd be getting in return. But he carries a dead cap of $13,205,111 in 2023 and $31,096,000 in 2024.

There's absolutely no way a team in their right mind would ever be willing to take on that much dead cap to move on from a player they hope to salvage the relationship with.

Would the Patriots be interested if he were to be put on the trade block at some point in the near future? Of course! They were said to have been interested in making the trade for Diggs when the Vikings were trying to move him, but ultimately traded him to the Bills.

So the realistic answer to the question of Buffalo trading or cutting Diggs is an emphatic no.

The Patriots will need to find another way to get the star WR1 they've been looking for because it's definitely not going to be Stefon Diggs any time soon.