The Patriots plan to release wide receiver Stefon Diggs after the start of the league year, a source confirmed to the Herald.
The move frees up $16.8 million in cap space, per OverTheCap.com. On March 13, two days after the new league year begins, $6 million of Diggs’ $20.6 million salary was set to be guaranteed.
Diggs posted on social media with a heart, mentioning the Patriots, with the message, “THANK YOU for a hell of a year. We family forever.”
The Patriots viewed Diggs, 32, as a declining player, due to his age, and there was a question within the organization of whether he could still be a No. 1 option in the offense.
Executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf was asked last week whether he expected Diggs to be part of the team.
“I’m not going to get into any specific players today,” Wolf said. “There are certain conversations that we’re having, and we’ll see what happens with everyone.”
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel was also asked how he viewed Diggs’ future with the team.
“Well, I mean, not only his future, but what he was able to do for us and come in and provide leadership,” Vrabel said. “He worked extremely hard in the time that he was rehabbing from the knee. I think he was just a really good presence each and every week. So, as we look to evaluate the football team, we’re doing that constantly, Eliot, myself, Ryan (Cowden), Stretch (John Streicher) and Eliot’s staff.
“Just being a little bit behind of where we were with just how long the season went, where those conversations for each and every player are happening in the meetings in between the ones we have the draft players here. So, there’s a lot of things that we’ll do between now and the time that the football season starts. So, that’s going to be the same with, I would say, most every player on our roster.”
Diggs pleaded not guilty on Feb. 13, to felony strangulation/suffocation and a lesser assault and battery charge against a live-in chef. He’s due back in court on April 1.
The move leaves the Patriots with Kayshon Boutte, Mack Hollins, DeMario Douglas, Kyle Williams, Efton Chism, John Jiles and Jeremiah Webb at wide receiver.
Diggs signed a three-year, $63.5 million contract with the Patriots last offseason. He caught 85 passes for 1,013 yards with four touchdowns in 17 regular-season games with the Patriots while serving as a strong team leader. Diggs was also coming off a torn ACL suffered in October 2024.
Two options to replace Diggs on offense are Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown and Colts free agent Alec Pierce.
Brown is a potential trade candidate, though as of last week at the NFL Scouting Combine, the Eagles’ asking price was “unserious,” per a source.
Brown maintains a relationship with Vrabel from their time together with the Titans. Brown, 28, caught 78 passes for 1,003 yards with seven touchdowns in 2025. It was his fourth straight 1,000-yard season and his sixth in seven NFL seasons.
The Eagles wide receiver has appeared unhappy with Philadelphia’s run-heavy offense, which lacks an elite NFL passer in quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Pierce looks likely to hit free agency after the Colts elected to franchise quarterback Daniel Jones rather than the 1,000-yard receiver.
Pierce, 25, is coming off a career-high season in which he caught 47 passes for 1,003 yards with six touchdowns. It was Pierce’s second straight season averaging over 20 yards per catch.
The 2022 second-round pick has emerged as one of the best deep-threat receivers in the NFL and could pair well with Patriots quarterback Drake Maye.
Bears wide receiver D.J. Moore, 28, has also been mentioned in trade rumors. He has four 1,000-yard seasons on his resume and caught 50 passes for 862 yards with six touchdowns last season.