We can only speculate whether it was Stefon Diggs’ impending court case or his poor average of 27.5 receiving yards in the playoffs that ultimately prompted the New England Patriots to cut him just one year into his three-year, $63.5-million deal. Not many were surprised by the move, though. If anything, most fans celebrated it.
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Many viewed the move as a necessary reset after a disappointing campaign. After all, Diggs’ playoff production was a sharp drop for a receiver who had been brought in to elevate the offense. That said, it is not that Diggs had a poor 2025 season. In fact, with his 85 receptions for 1,013 yards and four touchdowns in 17 games, averaging 11.9 yards per catch, he had a say in the Patriots’ 14-3 record.
It is this regular-season performance that prompted Skip Bayless to say the franchise may soon regret its decision. On The Arena’s YouTube channel, the former Undisputed host proclaimed that the Patriots “are going to miss Stefon Diggs next year” once their offense starts to regress.
“They were 80-1 to win the Super Bowl going into the year, and they were the shock story of the year, obviously. They came, literally, out of nowhere, and he had a whole lot to do with coming out of nowhere. On presence, leadership, been there, done all that, practice hard, speeches, he’s a real one,” said Bayless.
Mentioning Diggs’ performance during New England’s upset win against the Buffalo Bills in Week 5, which just so happened to mark one of the five times in which the WR recorded 100+ receiving yards in a game last season, Bayless suggested that the veteran receiver “showed Buffalo what they are missing.” Now that they’ve officially released him, Bayless expects Diggs to have a similar performance against the Patriots in the near future.
However, Bayless did admit that “You can’t defend” Diggs’ lackluster showing in the postseason. Still, the veteran analyst argued that the move will “leave a big hole in their locker room” come next season. “I don’t know who they are going to go get, but it better be somebody.”
The franchise, on its part, seems to have already found its next target in A.J. Brown. New England has been increasingly linked to trade talks for the Philadelphia Eagles, and they appear to be getting closer, rather than further away, to finalize that deal.
As far as Diggs is concerned, well, he’ll have to first clear his name in court. Assuming that all goes well there, then it’s very likely that he could find himself staying in the AFC.
The oddsmakers over at Bookies.com have listed the Baltimore Ravens as the odds-on favorites to land the 32-year-old veteran, with the Pittsburgh Steelers being the second most-favored team to do so. There’s also been talk of the Denver Broncos having some interest, but at this point, that idea figures to be more speculative than anything else.
Bayless should also take note of the real message that resides in the fact that Diggs is now having to look for a third new team in the span of just two years. This suggests that the problem resides more with him than with any particular franchise. Even if he is able to walk away from his legal troubles scot-free, there’s still no guarantee that there will be much demand for this dwindling product.
