New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs spent his offseason rehabbing the torn ACL he suffered in 2024 while playing with the Houston Texans. That led to doubts about his status for the Pats’ Week 1 contest against the Las Vegas Raiders. Well, Drake Maye can breathe a sigh of relief.
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It appears the Pats’ quarterback will have his No. 1 wideout for the season opener. On Tuesday’s episode of The Insiders, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported that Mike Vrabel expects Diggs to suit up on Sunday.
The news, which Vrabel announced on local radio, clears the way for Diggs to anchor New England’s receiving corps versus Pete Carroll’s defense. Ian Rapoport added more context.
“Stefon Diggs is ramping up, preparing, planning… For Week 1. [He] should be almost 100% by now. But everybody is different; every player is different,” Rapoport said. “You never really know if a player is going to heal as you hope he does. And considering how valuable he is in the receiving corps, this is something that was paramount.”
While the Diggs development is positive, Rapoport had less exciting news about star corner Christian Gonzalez. The third-year, second-team All-Pro corner injured his hamstring in New England’s fifth training camp practice.
“He has still not practiced after the hamstring,” Rapoport revealed, adding that this was “not a great sign” for Gonzalez’s availability against the Raiders.
Who will start for New England if Gonzalez is inactive?
The Patriots have revamped things in Foxborough after a brutal 4-13 campaign last season. They replaced Jerod Mayo with Vrabel and utilized their league-high amount of cap space, and Robert Kraft’s bank account, to the max on the open market.
The Patriots inked 19 free agents, six of whom earned a combined $99 million in salary on three and four-year contracts. The new additions are:
- DT Milton Williams – 4 years, $104 million ($26 million AAV)
- WR Stefon Diggs – 3 years, $63.5 million ($21.2 million AAV)
- CB Carlton Davis – 3 years, $54 million ($18 million AAV)
- ED Harold Landry – 3 years, $43.5 million ($14.5 million AAV)
- LB Robert Spillane – 3 years, $33 million ($11 million AAV)
- RT Morgan Moses – 3 years, $24 million ($8 million AAV)
Davis, an eighth-year veteran, is holding down the outside corner spot opposite Gonzalez. With Marcus Jones in the slot, there are two options (per New England’s depth chart) for Gonzalez’s replacement: Alex Austin and Charles Woods.
Austin, a 2023 seventh-round pick, has played 14 games for the Patriots the past two years. Woods, a 2024 undrafted free agent, appeared in 12 contests for the Los Angeles Rams as a rookie.
Neither player, obviously, has proven in the past to be capable of replicating Gonzalez’s production. So, if Gonzalez misses the game, whoever takes his spot is destined to be peppered with targets by Geno Smith. That could mean bad news for New England’s defense.
The Patriots are currently 3-point favorites over the Raiders, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. Kickoff for their game is set for 1:00 p.m. E.T. on CBS.
