Four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Stefon Diggs’ New England Patriots tenure may be over before it even gets started.
The 31-year-old wideout found himself in hot water after a video emerged on social media of him on a boat surrounded by women in swimsuits passing a bag containing an unknown substance to one of his guests.
The Patriots are aware of the video, and the team is reportedly deciding on how to address it with Diggs.
Four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Stefon Diggs’ New England Patriots tenure may be over before it even gets started.
The 31-year-old wideout found himself in hot water after a video emerged on social media of him on a boat surrounded by women in swimsuits passing a bag containing an unknown substance to one of his guests.
The Patriots are aware of the video, and the team is reportedly deciding on how to address it with Diggs.
“It’s something that we’re aware of, and obviously we want to make great decisions on and off the field,” Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel told reporters. “The message will be the same for all our players, that we’re trying to make great decisions. And any conversations that I’ve had with Stefon will remain between him and I and the club.”
Diggs, a two-time All-Pro selection who signed a three-year, $69 million contract with the Patriots in March, hasn’t been present at Patriots OTAs, and his future with the team is now in question according to a recent report from Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
“I sort of think all things are on the table,” Breer said in a radio interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub. “And I think it’s really, to me at least, it’s going to boil down to what [Stefon] told Vrabel and how believable it was, because I think it’s going to be hard for anybody — the league’s going to look into this and they’re going to hit a dead end because they’re not going to be able to prove what was in the bag. So, then it’s up to the team to make a decision.”
Diggs’ deal, which included a $12 million signing bonus, comes with $25 million guaranteed. Breer noted if New England has any chance of getting some of that money back for essentially firing Diggs for cause, they have to move swiftly.
Former Houston Texans wide receiver Stefon Diggs during a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at NRG Stadium.
Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
“If the team wants to recoup any of the guaranteed money, they have to cut him right away because you can’t hold him on the roster for two weeks and decide, ‘OK, we’re done with you then,’” Breer continued. “So, my guess would be the reason he wasn’t at practice—and this is purely a guess—might be because [Vrabel] told him to stay away and maybe they’re sorting through everything now.”
Breer also noted that Diggs’ behavior is exactly what Vrabel is trying to discourage with the culture shift he’s trying to instill in his first year as Patriots head coach.
“This sort of thing can undermine all of that,” Breer added. “If [Diggs] falls on the sword and does everything right, then fine, but, if [Vrabel] thinks he is lying to him I just wouldn’t doubt Mike having the stomach to cut him.”
