{"id":76180,"date":"2025-08-11T23:20:44","date_gmt":"2025-08-11T23:20:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=76180"},"modified":"2025-08-11T23:20:44","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T23:20:44","slug":"from-gamble-to-gold-the-patriots-boldest-offseason-bet-is-paying-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=76180","title":{"rendered":"From Gamble to Gold: The Patriots\u2019 Boldest Offseason Bet Is Paying Off"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Veteran WR Stefon Diggs continues to prove he\u2019s a leader in Foxboro and beyond.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/header>\n
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NFL analysts said in March what every Patriots fan knew when the team surprisingly signed free agent wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who turns 32 in November and continues to work his way back from 2024 ACL surgery.<\/p>\n

Yes, New England definitely took on some risk with Diggs\u2019 three-year, $63.5 million contract, but most felt it was a\u00a0risk well worth taking for a team in desperate need of a veteran, No. 1 wide receiver for young quarterback Drake Maye.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were basically no other options,\u201d\u00a0Chad Graff of The Athletic wrote\u00a0at the time.\u00a0\u201cThe trade market was barren. The draft class was weak at wide receiver. Simply put, it was a bad offseason to need a top-end wide receiver.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Diggs was among 12 Patriots players who were held out\u00a0of Friday night\u2019s preseason opening win over the Commanders.<\/p>\n

The team is staying cautious with its new No. 1 wide out, who has worked hard to avoid the physically unable to perform list and be a full participant since the start of training camp.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s still early, and Diggs certainly wore out his welcome in previous stints with Minnesota and Buffalo. But the Patriots\u2019 top offseason gamble might already be paying dividends.<\/p>\n

Stefon Diggs continues to prove he\u2019s a leader, both in Foxboro and beyond<\/h2>\n

Diggs made his presence felt immediately on Day 1 of camp, flashing some early chemistry with Maye. Patriots receiver\u00a0DeMario Douglas probably captured it best\u00a0when he told reporters:\u00a0\u201cHe\u2019s probably the one who brings out that attitude in the room. We\u2019ve got a lot of quiet right now in the room, but he\u2019s going to bring that dawg out.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Those leadership qualities aren\u2019t only being felt by New England\u2019s young WR group.<\/p>\n

Green Bay Packers wide out Christian Watson, who tore his ACL in early January of this year, recently told reporters that he reached out to Diggs about his strong and timely recovery.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously it\u2019s different for everybody, so I kinda just try to run my own race with it,\u201d Watson said. \u201cBut I talked to Stefon Diggs, you know, about his recovery process. I trained down in Davie (Florida) with the same people that he was training with, you know, rehabbing with. That went really well. So I kind of talked to him when I was first getting into the process. Obviously, it was going really smooth for him. I kind of picked his brain a little bit. Aside from that, I\u2019ve really just been running my own race.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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