Diggs suffered an ACL tear in late October, one month before his 31st birthday, yet still did reasonably well in free agency with a three-year, $63.5 million contract. It's a lot of money for a player who was already in decline before the severe injury, even with only 26 percent of the money ($16.6 million) guaranteed at signing. Diggs averaged 5.9 catches and 8.0 targets per game during his abbreviated 2024 season in Houston, but with his least yards per game (62.0) since 2017 and his lowest marks since 2018 for yards per catch (10.6) and aDOT (8.3). He was never a top YAC threat even in his prime, and the combination of already-waning speed and a late-career knee surgery suggest Diggs won't do much damage on deep balls moving forward. The good news is that there should be plenty of short and intermediate targets for the taking if he comes back at something like 90 percent of his pre-injury form, as the Patriots otherwise have one of the league's least-accomplished WR rooms to support aspiring franchise quarterback Drake Maye.
