SAN JOSE, California — Ten months before Mike Vrabel and the Patriots left their footprint in the snow at Empower Field, they turned a couple of key free agents’ eyes away from the Broncos and toward the East Coast.
At the Super Bowl’s opening-night festivities Monday, star New England receiver Stefon Diggs revealed he was “close” to signing with Denver in free agency, a move that would’ve drastically shifted the dynamics of the Broncos’ offense. Two days later, Diggs made clear to reporters that several factors appealed to him about Denver. One was familiarity with head coach Sean Payton and “what his offense can do,” as Diggs said, after he faced Payton’s Saints in two massive playoff games in 2017 and 2019 with the Minnesota Vikings.
The second, notably, was recently-hired Broncos offensive coordinator Davis Webb, who played with Diggs as a backup quarterback in Buffalo in 2020 and 2021. Webb was hired by Payton as Denver’s quarterbacks coach in 2023, and now, as offensive coordinator, could take over from Payton as the Broncos’ play-caller in 2026.
“He helped me a lot in Buffalo, as far as like, learning the plays,” Diggs said Wednesday. “Buffalo was a different place.
“Their offensive scheme with (Brian) Daboll, he ran a lot of stuff,” Diggs said, referring to the ex-Bills offensive coordinator. “So Davis Webb knew a lot of that. He taught me a lot of the offense. He’s a good friend of mine. I think he’s gonna be a hell of a coach one day.”
Diggs ended up signing a three-year, $69 million deal with the Patriots in late March, stepping in as second-year quarterback Drake Maye’s No. 1 target. The 32-year-old wideout finished his 2025 season with 85 catches for 1,013 yards and four touchdowns in New England’s run to a Super Bowl, recording five catches for 17 yards as cornerback Pat Surtain and the Broncos kept him in check in the Patriots’ AFC title-game win Jan. 25.
“They had a young quarterback — they both had young quarterbacks,” Diggs said Wednesday, referring to the Patriots’ Maye and Broncos’ Bo Nix. “So, when you weigh all the pros and cons, I just feel like the Patriots was probably gonna be the best fit.”
Diggs has faced a series of legal issues throughout 2025, still facing active charges of strangulation and assault from an early-December incident at his home as the Patriots prepare to face the Seattle Seahawks in Sunday’s Super Bowl.
The Broncos ultimately didn’t sign any wideouts in free agency beyond veteran Trent Sherfield, who they cut midseason after he recorded just three catches in 10 games. Head coach Sean Payton expressed strength in Denver’s WR room at the trade deadline, but the Broncos finished with the second-most drops of any NFL team in 2025 and Payton fired receivers coach Keary Colbert after the season.
General manager George Paton said at an end-of-season press conference that he didn’t regret not trading for a receiver at the trade deadline, after Denver was connected to the Dolphins’ Jaylen Waddle.
“We always look at everything,” Paton said, referencing the deadline. “I don’t think what was available would’ve made much of a difference for us.”
Beyond Diggs, the Patriots also captured another Broncos free-agent target in March: starting middle linebacker Robert Spillane, whom they signed for three years and $33 million. A source with knowledge of the discussions told The Denver Post that the Broncos offered a similar contract to Spillane as they did to free-agent linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who wound up signing with Denver for three years and $31.5 million.
The source told The Post that Spillane was very close, too, to signing with Denver in free agency. A Broncos source told The Post that Denver was in on Spillane until his asking price got too high for their liking.
“I mean, knowing Coach Vrabel was definitely key,” Spillane said Monday, referring to a 2018 rookie year with Vrabel in Tennessee when asked why he signed with the Patriots over the Broncos. “Being the one to give me my first opportunity in this league eight years ago — and then for him to want me to come back and be his middle linebacker, that was a special moment for me.”
Greenlaw made a substantial impact as a run defender in 2025, but struggled with injuries, recording a total of 53 tackles across eight regular-season and two playoff games. Spillane, meanwhile, racked up 97 tackles and two interceptions in 13 games in 2025 for New England.
The Broncos, now, head into the 2026 offseason with wide receiver and linebacker as two key positional needs, a year’s cycle after coming up three points short to New England for a shot at the Super Bowl.
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