Stefon Diggs’ presence was one of the biggest storylines of New England Patriots practice on Monday.
It was the first step for the conversation about Diggs to be centered around football instead of talk about a yacht, bikini-clad women and an unknown pink substance.
Diggs was a limited participant during the practice session, going only through positional drills. But by all accounts, Diggs looked really good, especially considering he’s only seven months removed from tearing his ACL.
Despite the major off-the-field distraction, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels feels Diggs is doing what he needs to as he gets acclimated to a new team.
“He’s here today and we’re excited to have an opportunity to work with the guys that are out here and available to us,” McDaniels told reporters before practice, per MassLive’s Mark Daniels. “I know he’s staying up on the information and the material. There’s so many things and opportunities for us to teach all of our guys going forward… I’m not concerned about Stef in that regard.”
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The Patriots are Diggs’ third team in as many seasons and the franchise invested a three-year, $69 million contract in the four-time Pro Bowl wideout to upgrade a position of need.
Diggs will be New England’s No. 1 wideout once he is fully healthy. No receiver on the roster can match his pedigree, which features six consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons, and he certainly will be a valuable asset for second-year quarterback Drake Maye.
Diggs still has benchmarks to reach in his recovery but he has voiced he wants to be ready to go for the season opener. Patriots wide receivers coach Todd Downing didn’t address that timeline, but has seen Diggs trying to make that a possibility.
“He’s working hard,” Downing said. “I think there’s a little carryover with the stuff he did in Buffalo with (Brian) Daboll back in the day. So there’s a little bit of a refresher course. But yeah, he’s been working hard.”
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