New England Patriots - NESN.com
Mike Vrabel seems ready to move past any offseason drama surrounding Stefon Diggs.
Since the now-infamous boat video surfaced, Diggs joined the New England Patriots for offseason team activities. The recently signed wide receiver, who is recovering from a torn ACL sustained last October, participated in the start of New England’s mandatory minicamp on Monday.
Vrabel delivered a positive progress report on Diggs during Monday’s press conference, which the Patriots shared on social media.
“He’s just trying to figure out where everything is and what his role is, and making sure as we add those situations – third down, no huddle, and red zone – that he’s staying up on it and working hard in his rehab,” Vrabel said. “Certain drills he can be out there and there’s certain drills he won’t be, but I think he’s engaged and I like his energy.”
Drake Maye also commended his new pass-catcher’s locker-room presence.
“He seems like an awesome teammate,” Maye said of Diggs.”… We talk all the time. He’s a veteran in this league. Made a lot of plays, played in a lot of big-time games. So, just an awesome voice for this receiving room, for this offense.”
Diggs was pursuing his seventh straight 1,000-yard season before suffering a season-ending injury. The four-time Pro Bowler had caught 47 of 64 targets for 496 yards in eight games with the Houston Texans.
The Patriots nevertheless signed Diggs to a three-year, $69 million contract with $26 million guaranteed. They’ll hope the 31-year-old gives Maye a prolific playmaker for a team that hasn’t housed a 1,000-yard receiver since Julian Edelman in 2019.
An off-field incident threatened to compromise the new union. After Memorial Day, a viral video showed Diggs sharing an unidentified pink substance while partying on a boat.
Vrabel acknowledged the video two weeks ago but told reporters he’d keep any conversations with Diggs between them. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reported that Diggs had a “truthful” talk with his new head coach about the matter, and everyone “moved forward.”
