To say Stefon Diggs had a productive year with the New England Patriots last season would be an understatement. He caught 85 catches last season, becoming the only Patriot to crack four figures in receiving yards, while playing a key role in helping the team reach Super Bowl LX. But that production couldn’t save him, as he was released by the team in March, following off-field issues that led to him being involved in court proceedings. However, according to NBC Sports Boston’s Phil Perry, the court case was not the only reason the Pats decided to release the veteran.

“I think that move to part ways with him was a move about money owed and age and a willingness and a desire to upgrade, which I think they think they have done with Romeo Doubs,” Perry explained on The Next Pats podcast. “So before even adding AJ Brown, I think they think they’re better off at that position right now.”

The money factor stated by Perry makes sense, as Stefon Diggs signed a three-year, $63.5 million deal with the Patriots last season. His base salary was set to jump from $2.9 million to $20.6 million in 2026, with the cap charge rising from $10.5 million to $26.5 million. Releasing him before the March 13 guarantee date freed up $16.8 million for the Patriots. Diggs also turned 32 last November, which is probably what led to the skepticism of having him long-term.

Perry also pointed to the pattern of controversies around Diggs that had built up over his single season in New England. It started in May 2025, when a video circulated on social media showing Diggs on a boat holding a bag with an unidentified pink substance. Head coach Mike Vrabel had acknowledged that the team was “aware” of the video at the time, but declined to elaborate.

Diggs himself was asked about it during the team’s OTAs last offseason, he said “The particulars are all internal,” and refused to talk more about it. It didn’t derail his season, but it remained a nagging narrative throughout the year. And then came the court case.

On December 2, 2025 – mid-season – Diggs’ former live-in personal chef, Jamila Adams, accused him of slapping and choking her during a dispute over unpaid wages at his home in Dedham, Massachusetts. He was charged with felony strangulation and misdemeanor assault and battery. He pleaded not guilty in February 2026 – five days after playing in the Super Bowl – and was acquitted in May after a jury deliberated for less than two hours.

But the Patriots had already cut him by then. Phil Perry’s point is that the franchise had made up its mind before the verdict, and the receiver they chose to replace him with was already signing the next day.

Stefon Diggs was officially released from the team on March 11th, and on March 12th, New England signed Romeo Doubs to a four-year, $68 million deal (worth up to $80 million). His cap hit in year one is just $8.6 million – a fraction of what Diggs would have cost – with a team option after 2027 that keeps the deal reversible if it doesn’t work out. Doubs had a career-high 724 receiving yards with the Green Bay Packers last season. He has never cracked 1,000 yards in his four years, but the Patriots are betting on the trajectory instead of the track record here.

But Doubs alone doesn’t solve the receiver room’s troubles. There’s another receiver on the periphery of this roster – one the Patriots have been working toward since before the Doubs deal was signed.

AJ Brown: the other piece of the puzzle

The Patriots haven’t been quiet about their interest in trading for AJ Brown, the Philadelphia Eagles’ veteran wideout. While there has been a lot of uncertainty in New England due to the Mike Vrabel controversy, ESPN’s Adam Schefter has recently revealed that the trade remains firmly on track.

“I still think it is on track,” Schefter said on the Pat McAfee Show. “I still think it’s going to happen, I still think it will involve a future one, likely a 2028 first-round draft pick. I still think all these elements are in place. And I still think that once we get to June, that these two sides will get together and complete a trade that’ll send AJ Brown to the New England Patriots.”

The trade is set to only be executed post June 1. A post-June 1 trade will drop Philadelphia’s dead cap charge from $43.45 million to $16.35 million in 2026. The Eagles are waiting for the calendar date that saves them the most cap room before making it official.

What makes the deal an easier one for the Patriots to complete is Mike Vrabel’s familiarity with Brown. The HC drafted the WR to the Tennessee Titans in 2019. Brown is, as revealed by his current teammate Saquon Barkley, a lifelong Patriots fan. The Vrabel connection itself might be enough to turn the tables in Brown’s favor.

The Kansas City Chiefs, meanwhile, have also been linked to Brown, but the combination of Vrabel’s existing relationship and Brown’s personal attachment to the franchise is a pull Kansas City can’t match.

The reflexive take is that Romeo Doubs is a stopgap and AJ Brown is the real plan. But it undersells what Doubs on an $8.6 million cap hit actually gives quarterback Drake Maye in his third NFL season. Brown, meanwhile, has topped 1,000 receiving yards for four straight seasons. But if Doubs develops genuine chemistry with Maye – the way Perry noted was happening with Diggs last October, he could prove to be a real asset.

Stefon Diggs put up 1,013 yards, played in a Super Bowl, and still got cut because the contract no longer made sense for the direction the team is now heading. That’s the clearest signal of what New England is building this year. Doubs and Brown – both are not veterans on inflated deals. However, they are weapons to make the offense click.