It almost feels inevitable at this point that the Patriots will have some sort of controversy during an offseason that they cannot escape. That has been their reality over the past two weeks, as videos surfaced of receiver Stefon Diggs on a boat over Memorial Day weekend with an alleged mysterious substance in a small bag.
It generated headlines about his potential future (or lack thereof) in New England and how new head coach Mike Vrabel would respond, with some believing he could ultimately decide the Diggs experiment had already run its course. That's not what happened, much to the relief of Patriots fans, and instead, Vrabel addressed the issue behind closed doors in the way a tone setter should.
Diggs had remained away from OTAs at the height of the drama, but returned this week after the chatter had mainly calmed down. The latest reporting suggests he had a tough conversation with Vrabel about the optics of the situation and regarding his future, which Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer detailed on Tuesday.
Mike Vrabel wastes no time setting the tone after Stefon Diggs controversy
During an appearance on NBC Sports Boston's "Early Addition," Breer discussed the recent controversy that captivated the NFL and revealed what he had heard about the meeting between Diggs and Vrabel, which reportedly had a "lay it all out on the table" style.
“Yeah, I think he (Diggs) got the message. I think there was a point last week when everything was on the table, and it really kind of rode on like, ‘OK, how does it go when Mike Vrabel has a chance to talk to him directly?’
By all accounts, that conversation went fine. I think he was truthful with Mike. I think there was at least some degree of like, ‘What were you doing?’ And it’s not so much just being on a boat on Memorial Day weekend, whatever was in the bag. It’s more like, ‘There are cameras on the boat? What are you (thinking)?'”
Considering many began to speculate that the Patriots' head coach was willing to move on from Diggs already, this is quite the positive development from what had been put out there in recent days.
To further prove that the conversation was serious, Breer made it clear that the team is moving past the drama and will continue with Diggs and their offseason plans.
“I think all that at this point is past them. He was there again (Tuesday), and so I think right now, they’re moving forward. It’s not erased from the ledger; it happened. But my understanding is they’ve moved forward.”
This will (hopefully) be the last headline-making moment of the offseason because we all know the Patriots have had more than their fair share of controversy over the last 25 years.
No matter how you feel about their previous dramas, we can all agree that it's become tiresome. Hence, an unexciting offseason focused on improving and being a competitive team this year is all we want to hear about from now on.