Once Stefon Diggs tore his ACL in Week 8 of the 2024 NFL regular season, his 2025 return got murkier since he was set to hit free agency in the first place. At 31 years old, he's on the tail end of his career, and with a significant knee injury added to his resume, fewer teams could be interested in signing the former All-Pro receiver in free agency. However, Stefon Diggs could find himself with the San Francisco 49ers or Dallas Cowboys later in the 2025 NFL free agency period, per SI's Albert Breer.
“Therein may lay the key for [Stefon Diggs]’s success this year—with the likelihood that he won’t be fully cleared until at least training camp,” Breer wrote. “The best place for him, it seems, would be with a contender where he wouldn’t have to be the guy, which would mitigate potential issues with his desire for the ball and also alleviate the frustration that losing can bring a guy with his sort of makeup.
“Is that place out there for him? San Francisco would make sense, at the right price. Dallas might, too, with his brother already there.
“And at this point, those teams would have a pretty good idea of what they’re getting,” Breer added. “He can be mercurial. He can get caught up in his emotions and his numbers. But ultimately, he’s actually a really good guy who badly wants to win and works his butt off to do just that.”
Now, Breer brings up good points.
Diggs — 31 — likely isn't bringing No. 1 production to a receiver room. That's not to say Diggs is some scrub either, though. But, maybe he shouldn't be the first option in the passing game.
Related NewsArticle continues below
And that wouldn't be required of him in San Francisco and Dallas. Well, with the Cowboys, he'd be more of a supplemental piece in the passing game behind CeeDee Lamb.
With the 49ers, it still feels like he'd get tasked with being the top guy. Yes, they have Brandon Aiyuk, but would the 49ers want to rely on two receivers coming off ACL tears to return in 2025 without issues? That seems risky for a team on the verge of paying Brock Purdy over $60 million annually.
Along with losing Aiyuk to injury after signing him to a massive contract, the 49ers traded away Deebo Samuel, losing another weapon on offense.
So, if one team were to make more sense than the other, it'd be for Stefon Diggs to join the Cowboys over the 49ers in free agency. The Cowboys have the No. 1 receiver, Diggs stays put in Texas, and he'd unite with his brother Trevon.