Stefon Diggs Might Be a Problem: A FansOnlySportz Special Report

Matt Hylen
Jun 8
7 min read

by Matt Hylen 6/8/2025 FansOnlySportz

Coming into the 2025 offseason, it was a known commodity that the Patriots had two massive holes in their offense: Left Tackle and Wide Receiver. New England decided to address Left Tackle in the draft, where they selected LSU's Will Campbell, but went a different route at the receiver position. Enter Stefon Diggs.

Now with his 4th team, Stefon Diggs has been incredible in his career. In 144 games, Diggs has 857 receptions, 10,491 receiving yards, and 70 touchdowns. Since Diggs entered the league in 2015, his receptions rank 2nd, his receiving yards 5th, and his touchdowns 5th, across the entire NFL.

So, on the field, Diggs has been elite to say the least, but what about off the field? Let's find out...

Vikings Tenure: A Heart Breaker?

C/O to Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images.

When you think of Stefon Diggs' tenure in Minnesota, there is a lot of positive. You think of the multi-1,000-yard seasons he had, or the "Minneapolis Miracle" during the 2018 NFC Divisional round game. He made his value known in Minnesota and quickly became one of the brightest stars the league had to offer. However, there might be more issues than meet the eye.

On December 7th, 2017, the Vikings released a video where Brian Robison, a defensive end for the team at that point, went around to the young players on the team asking them questions. The first question was "Who would you least like to date your sister?". Their answer? Stefon Diggs.

Now, there was one person who did not mention Diggs, however, some did not even have to think about it, while others refused to answer when asked why. The general idea was that many of the Vikings' players that were asked named Diggs. Noticeably, this was a fun, locker-room joke in the video and was all good fun... but you have to wonder how much of the "all in good fun" was coming from actual behavior his teammates consider "wild."

(Video can be found at the Minnesota Vikings' official YouTube page.)

On top of this, his tenure as a Viking did not end well. At the end of the 2019 season, Diggs requested a trade from the Vikings, expressing his unhappiness with his role within the offense. According to CBS Sports, he claimed that the Vikings were basing their offense around the run at that time. Basically, he did not want to be part of a team that does not revolve around him. According to ESPN, coaches and scouts of the Vikings when Stefon was on the team often referred to Diggs' tenure as the "Diggs experience," a roller coaster of on-field elite play and off-field discontent that can cause major discomfort within the building. Coming off arguably the best season of his career at that point, Diggs demonstrated a me-first mentality that ultimately got him traded to his next team, the Buffalo Bills.

Bills Tenure: Same Old, Same Old?

Diggs' departure from Buffalo was a shock. He was half of a top Quarterback-Receiver duo with one of the best Quarterbacks in the NFL, in Josh Allen. He had been the #1 receiver for four years prior, while also being on a competitive, Super Bowl-caliber team. Though we did see multiple occasions of Diggs complaining to a coach or his quarterback on the sidelines towards the end, this shock came from more of a fan's standpoint.

So why trade your best receiver? Regardless of how the 2023 season ended, it would create $31 million in Dead Cap (roughly 12% of the team's salary cap) and left your receiving core as a glaring hole in the offense. I mean, Diggs put up multiple All-Pro level seasons with a budding superstar in Josh Allen, why not try and figure things out with a guy who clearly has done so much for the franchise on the field?

Well, paraphrasing for Sal Maiorana of Democrat & Chronicle, he was too much of a diva to be kept around, even to the point where the Dead Cap was worth it. Whether it be the meltdown Diggs had, (who was a captain at the time,) in January of the 2022-23 season; sending cryptic messages on X (which was still Twitter at the time) in that same season or skipping valuable offseason programs such as OTAs and mandatory minicamp, Diggs did not show the actions of what a true leader is supposed to perform. Though Buffalo may have stated otherwise since the trade and Diggs has discussed his mental health struggles, (Mental health is a legitimate and severe issue that NFL players go through and should always be considered,) it is evident that at least part of the reason Diggs was dealt to the Houston Texans was because of his off-the-field issues.

In light of all this drama, Buffalo found it to be the right time to eat the money that Diggs would create if moved. The relationship between Diggs and Allen seemed fractured while his on-the-field play was slipping, which caused the tolerance of his off-field issues to decrease. Of course, this is just a theory but it seems a little too convenient that Diggs was moved shortly after all of this went down in 2023. No real rumors had been leaked, yet it was a financial decision to move a guy like Diggs? That does not sit right with me.

Texans Tenure: Over Before it Began?

Stefon Diggs' tenure with the Houston Texans was extremely short-lived, and truthfully, should be negated when talking about Diggs and as a whole. He only played in eight games for Houston before tearing his ACL, ruling him out for the season.

However when you think about it, it is a bit interesting why Houston, despite verbal interest, never made a legitimate offer to re-sign Diggs. Was it the ACL? Was it his asking price? Or could it be for the same potential reasons Minnesota and Buffalo dealt him away?

Another thing to consider is that Houston's Wide Receiver room, outside of Nico Collins is not good at all. With Tank Dell likely out for all of the 2025-26 season, Houston is left with a regressing Christian Kirk, two unproven rookies in Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel, John Metchie III, and Justin Watson. Higgins and Noel could turn out to be valuable pieces, but why not sign Diggs to a short-term deal like New England did, and allow for them to develop under two proven receivers?

Diggs may be on the wrong side of thirty and is coming off a torn ACL, but his track record is proven. He was also off to a very good start to the season this past year, gaining 496 yards on 47 catches. That is a 17-game pace of 99 receptions and 1,092 yards!

To me, something must have happened that caused Houston to be unwilling to take the risk. His track record off the field is far too shaky for me to think otherwise.

The Yacht Incident

If you haven't heard about this by now, I would genuinely be surprised. On May 27th, a video was released of Stefon Diggs partying with a number of women, making inappropriate gestures while a woman was twerking on him, and offering three women an unidentified pink substance in which he allegedly says "don't take too much". Not only was this just shortly after he had officially signed a deal with the Patriots, it was also during the Patriots' OTAs, which Diggs, as a new member of the team, should have attended.

According to the team, Diggs showed up to the Patriots' OTAs shortly after the video was released, and a conversation was had between the team and Stefon. No disciplinary action has been taken to the media's knowledge, as both parties are seemingly attempting to move past what occurred.

Now, I am in no place to judge how Stefon Diggs should live his life. He has every right to do what he wants. Additionally, OTAs are of course optional, so Diggs was under no obligation to attend them. With that said, that video is a horrific look on not only Stefon, but the entire team. When you are a team like the New England Patriots that is trying to build a cultural foundation and your clear-#1 receiver is off partying on a yacht, it is not the ideal way to start any offseason, let alone a rebuilding one. Plus, with Diggs' past, this choice he made only correlates to his off-the-field issues. New England looks like a team that cannot yet control their players, while Diggs looks like he does not have a care in the world.

I am not going to speculate what the pink substance was in order to prevent making an accusation, but from what can be seen in the video, it is mysterious to say the least. What I will say is, as a fan, you would hope your big offseason signing who will turn 32 this season and coming off an ACL tear, would be busy putting in the work to recover. Instead, he decides to go on a yacht and party while the team is working on getting the new guys settled in. Sure, the workout videos and team videos that have been released of Diggs thus far look promising, but so did Cam Newton's back in 2019-20, and we all know how that turned out.

So, Should Fans Trust Stefon Diggs?

In short? No... we should not trust Stefon Diggs, not with his track record. From what I have seen, Diggs is a proven wildcard off the field who could turn on you at any moment. With that said, if he manages to stay on the field and out of trouble, I have no reason to believe he will not be a valuable asset to New England's success. The ACL tear is scary and could cause Diggs to lose a step, but his stats speak for itself. He has arguably been a top-5 receiver in football since entering the league, showing no true signs of regression over the course of an entire year. Sure, he did fall off massively in his last year in Buffalo, but he bounced back from that with a very strong start to the season in Houston.

Whether you like him or not, you just cannot dispute the production. If his ACL is where he claims it to be in the recovery process, we could see Diggs contribute for New England right away .If that's the case, I wish him all the best. I cannot help but not believe it until I see it on and off the field.