The New England Patriots could make a surprising move this offseason.
New England reached the Super Bowl this season but lost to the Seattle Seahawks. Entering the offseason, the expectation is that the Patriots will look to bolster their offensive line and also add some more weapons for quarterback Drake Maye.
Yet, heading into the offseason, NFL analyst Greg Auman of FOX Sports named Patriots’ receiver Stefon Diggs as a potential cut candidate, just one year after signing a three-year, $63.5 million deal with the team.
“Diggs, 32, had a productive regular season with 1,013 receiving yards,” Auman wrote in an article published on Tuesday. “But he only had four touchdowns before going quiet in the playoffs with 110 yards and one touchdown in four games, which is not what you pay a receiver $23 million to do.
“Diggs has no guaranteed money in 2026, and cutting him would result in $8 million in dead money, but it saves his $21 million salary to focus on keeping other free agents. Diggs averaged nine touchdowns a year in four Pro Bowl seasons in Buffalo from 2020-23. Will he ever get back to that level of production again?”
Releasing Diggs would save the Patriots plenty of money and could be a logical move. Yet, he was an impact receiver for New England, and the Patriots would have to replace him and still add another receiver or two.
Diggs recorded 85 receptions for 1,013 yards and four touchdowns in his first season wth the Patriots. In the playoffs, he had 14 receptions for 110 yards and a touchdown.
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