The Patriots will be releasing WR Stefon Diggs when the new league year begins next week. NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reports that the veteran WR is due $1.7 million in fully guaranteed money for the coming season, with another $6 million set to become guaranteed next week if he remained on the roster.
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero: "The Patriots didn’t want to drag him along and informed him today they’re moving on, giving him a jump start. He’ll be released next Wednesday."
How sweet of the Pats to give Diggs a one-week warning rather than just deactivating his key card.
Perhaps this is just a monetary decision on a 32-year-old wideout with a $26.5 million cap hit vs. $9.7 million in dead cap, according to Spotrac. But even with Diggs' number on the roll, New England was set to carry the 10th-most cap space into free agency (per Spotrac).
Diggs easily led the Patriots in targets last season, caught 25 more balls than his nearest teammate (for the regular season), and paced the Pats by 245 receiving yards. And he did all that despite coming off a 2024 ACL tear.
Even at his advanced age (by NFL standards), it would be fair to expect a healthier version in 2026.
Canning the vet leaves New England's WR corps like this, ahead of free agency (in order of total 2025 targets):
So was it money, a lesser version of Diggs than they anticipated, or the off-field hassles that motivated the Pats to move on? We probably won't learn the whole truth.
How Diggs navigates the open market will at least signal his chances of a comfy landing for 2026.
Boutte is less than a year older than Williams (a 2025 rookie) and already has three NFL seasons behind him. The former sixth-round pick slipped from 2.9 catches per game in 2024 to 2.4 last season but also increased his yards per catch, catch rate, receiving success rate, and TDs.
Boutte carries at least some late-round appeal into 2026 drafting. We'll see what coaches say about him this offseason.
Douglas might be the most direct beneficiary of Diggs' ouster. He's the only Patriot who played a higher percentage of his snaps in the slot last year than Diggs (81.7%). But Douglas also saw his targets per game and snap share (just 26.3%) fall precipitously vs. his previous two seasons.
There's probably not much upside to chase here.
Williams will be interesting to watch through his first full NFL offseason. He arrived via Round 3 but played sparingly as a rookie.
New England appears certain to address WR in free agency and/or the draft.
Whatever the motivation, this isn't good for Diggs' long-term outlook. If you're holding him in dynasty, your best bet is some big early-season numbers that facilitate a sell window.
Diggs sits at WR44 in the first half of Round 9 in Underdog Fantasy ADP as of this writing. That was probably too high, given the downside risk of his January assault charges plus his shorter-range game of the past two seasons.
Expect that to decline.
Boutte sits next highest among Pats wideouts at WR65, making anyone else in the group a fine shot to take at this point in the draft calendar.
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