NFL Free Agency is set to begin, and it will quickly be followed by the NFL Draft, and teams are shuffling their lineups to clear cap space and get ready for the start of the upcoming new business season. The New England Patriots’ wide receiver room is feeling this shuffle, with move after move turning heads and making headlines on sports sites across the web.
It all began with the team releasing their star free agent pickup from last offseason, Stefon Diggs. The move saved the Patriots more than $20 million against the salary cap, and on the surface, that seems a good enough reason to part ways with a 32-year-old wideout. Diggs was productive in 2025 and was a key factor in getting New England to the Super Bowl, but as Bob Sugar said in Jerry Maguire, “It’s not show friends, it’s showbusiness.”
What makes the move somewhat perplexing is the subsequent stories about the Patriots trying to bring in Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver AJ Brown. Like the release of Diggs, this makes sense when isolated from other events, but putting the two together, the pieces don’t fit. It’s a signal of head coach Mike Vrabel and the front office feeling that it’s better to buy six of something than half a dozen.
Patriots Wide Receiver By The Numbers
Diggs was targeted last season 102 times and caught 85 passes (83.3% catch) for 1,013 yards and four touchdowns. Brown was targeted 121 times and caught 78 balls (64.5%) for 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns. The disparity in catch percentage could be chalked up to Diggs playing with a more accurate quarterback, which is true of completion percentage, but Drake Maye was accurate on 75.2% of his passes, and Jalen Hurts was accurate on 74% of his passes.
So, Brown was able to put up inferior numbers, or at best, comparable numbers, to Diggs. The Patriots felt the best move in that situation would be cutting Diggs and paying him $5 million per year against the cap this year and next year, trading a first-round pick for Brown, and then paying him $35 million per year. All of that capital expense to get identical production to Diggs? What is the point of that?
Diggs was slated to make $26 million this year, which is a bargain in the premier wide receiver market. He is three years older than Brown, but who cares how old a player is? All that matters is production. The Patriots could have achieved the same final result by keeping Diggs, throwing $15 million in the fireplace this year and next year, and giving the Eagles a first-round pick for free.
Hopefully, The Patriots Come To Their Senses
The trade hasn’t happened yet, and there’s still time for New England to come down from whatever they are high on. Because they released their best receiver, there is a need now, but it may be better to address that need in the free agent market, where it won’t cost them any picks to bring in a productive player. It feels like the team got a bad case of being a fan, and wanting a guy just because he has a big name.
