When the NFL calendar churns to the early point of the summer, weekend headlines are usually a major positive or a major negative with little gray area in between. Former Buffalo Bills receiver Stefon Diggs finds himself guilty of the latter.
A video of Diggs partying on a boat this past weekend went viral for several dicey reasons. First, Diggs was away from the field, partying just days ahead of the start of minicamp.
But going further, Diggs was spotted around an unidentified pink substance that immediately raises some red flags. Every which way, his perceived actions were not becoming of the cultural standard well established with his new team, the New England Patriots.
The star receiver was questioned publicly for the first time on the situation this week, dancing around comments on the matter while providing unconvincing and unsettling responses.
"Obviously, it's a conversation that's happening internal, which I can't have too much of a conversation with [you] about it," he said. "I've been in this league 10 years. You can format your question many different ways, I'm going to obviously answer it the same way."
Whatever happened on the boat, much of which is not technically incriminating by nature, was not well received by head coach Mike Vrabel and the Patriots staff.
Diggs is not fully cleared for a return from his ACL injury that ended his 2024 campaign early. As a result of that and his other exploits, he admitted he has not been around the team much in recent weeks.
However, the All-Pro receiver may be looking to change that. Off-the-field matters side, that injury remains in the way of him competing at 100%.
"We'll see how it goes. Obviously, I'm grinding each and every day. I'm eager to get out there, so whenever they do push the button, I'm going to be ready. ... Where I am right now, I wouldn't really put a percentage on it, but I got some work to do."
The Patriots hope to maximize their investment with Diggs here, signing him to a three-year $69 million deal in free agency. Diggs will be counted on as a main contributor in the offense surrounding the young quarterback Drake Maye.