The Patriots kicked off their 2026 offseason by deciding to move on from wide receiver Stefon Diggs after just one season into his three-year deal. Although it was rumored to be under consideration ahead of free agency, given the cap implications of Diggs remaining on the roster this fall, it makes sense they made this decision, even if it creates another issue they have to address.
Mike Vrabel and Eliot Wolf will now need to prioritize adding more firepower to the receiving corps with Diggs no longer around, and this creates an opportunity to do that early in free agency or in the upcoming draft.
Fortunately, they got exactly what they needed out of Diggs during the 2025 season, as he was the first receiver to record 1,000+ receiving yards in New England since Julian Edelman in 2019, and from the way his teammates spoke about him, he clearly made an impact on and off the field.
Despite stirring up rumors of an ugly falling out with the team over the past few days, Diggs didn't take long to take to social media to send his thanks to the organization and the fans, which is a much more pleasant goodbye than it could have been.
Patriots WR Stefon Diggs latest Instagram story: pic.twitter.com/kFDgQWrhtm
— Ben Belford-Peltzman (@thepatriotsbeat) March 4, 2026
Stefon Diggs' departure gives the Patriots a new task to address this offseason
Because of his chaotic tenures with the Vikings and then the Bills, it was easy to assume that things could go south with Diggs and the Patriots, and although the current narrative suggests he was cut due to cap reasons, there's room to speculate that there might be more to it than that.
With his ongoing court case, there might be some new information that led the Patriots to make this decision, especially since it now creates a sense of urgency to address the receiving corps even more than they otherwise would have this offseason.
Beyond that, his age might be more of a factor than it initially was when they decided to sign him, too, as Vrabel has repeatedly spoken about his desire to build the Patriots roster through the draft or with younger talent in free agency.
This opens the door for that to happen in the receiver room, specifically highlighting Alec Pierce, and hopefully, they'll be able to get that done, or they'll be in a much worse spot now that Diggs is off the team.