Stefon Diggs Potentially Signing Patriots Contract After A.J. Brown Trade Discussed by Mike Vrabel

It doesn't sound like the New England Patriots are going to bring back free agent wide receiver Stefon Diggs after trading for A.J. Brown even if head coach Mike Vrabel didn't dismiss the notion entirely.

"I think we [are] probably at the number that we would need right now," Vrabel told reporters (h/t Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk) Wednesday. "I wouldn't say anything is off the table. We would want to add anybody that could help us. I'm not going to give a percentage on it, but I think we're happy with where we're at right now with the numbers and the people in the receivers' room.

"I appreciate Stefon as a person and as a player and what he did for us last year—I'll value that. Helped us win football games. Helped us get to where we got. But right now, I don't think that's something that I think we're exploring. But I would never say no."

Bringing back Diggs after adding Brown would mean devoting plenty of resources to the wide receiver position considering the Patriots also added Romeo Doubs on a four-year deal this offseason.

With Brown, Doubs, Mack Hollins, Kayshon Boutte and more, New England may be set at wide receiver as Drake Maye looks to take yet another step with more weapons after battling for the MVP last season.

Still, Diggs was an integral part of the team's run to the Super Bowl last season.

He was the only wide receiver on the team with more than 551 receiving yards with 85 catches for 1,013 yards and four touchdowns. He caught a touchdown in New England's AFC Divisional Round victory over the Houston Texans and was Maye's go-to option throughout the campaign.

It marked the seventh time in the last eight years the four-time Pro Bowler surpassed the 1,000-yard mark with the only failure to do so coming in 2024 when a torn ACL limited him to eight games.

Yet he bounced back from that injury and appeared in all 17 regular-season games and all four postseason contests for the Patriots.

The team decided to go a different direction with the addition of Brown this offseason, which means other clubs in need of pass-catchers could look to sign him ahead of the 2026 season.