Patriots Player Departure Stefon Diggs Cut.

Hugepatsfan said:

I don't think anyone should sign him and want him to do "more". That's how I think Pierce will end up a bad signing. I think he'll end up a good signing if you let him add value as he did last year. You don't try to turn him into a volume guy. Let him be the deep ball specialist who does it better than anyone in the league and let the volume come via the space he opens up underneath for others by doing that. That space opens up running lanes and underneath routes for others.

The market for him, from what I've read is about $25M/year which would be about the 15th highest paid WR in the league so in a 32 league team I think you can say that's mid #1 WR money. I think that's fair. He's a lower end #1 guy for sure because he is low volume, but play style wise he has an open things up for others kind of game compared to some other guys who don't move defenses. I think the way he can open up the field for others bumps him up from low end #1 to mid-tier #1 for me on the contract.

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KCSVEN said:

2 games into watching every Pierce pass play from last year (471 plays). Really like what I see so far. He's open and open deep a lot just nobody to get him the ball. Great hands. Way better than I expected. Seems like he was made for Drake Maye. Full write up when I'm more than 2 games in but starting to salivate at the idea...

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patfanken said:

Diggs was a KEY factor in Pats success last season. It is kind of a shame that his age and physical limitations made his contract too onerous to keep him this year, that was how much he helped create the culture that aided in that remarkable season. He caught over 80% of his targets. That's an amazing number. However that was last season, and I hope we will be able to upgrade the position.

AJ Brown is NOT the answer. If he were a FA, I'd be banging at his door, but he isn't and the demands the eagles have made clear, PLUS the cap space make him a non-factor. Pierce is a possibility, but I don't see him getting out of Indy. I AM excited about the continuing development of Williams, Boutte, Douglas, etc and how they will improve in their 2nd year in this offense and with Maye. I think we can replace Diggs' production with a FA addition no named Brown, or Pierce, but I don't see us adding anyone that will give the "cult" a hard on, like Brown would have done.

Remember with our "crumby" WR group we were a top 5 team in the NFL in passing yds last year. Adding even a B level FA like Moore or Thomas to go along with continuing improvement of Boutte and Williams we SHOULD be able to maintain that stature next season. We need to improve our 2nd TE with someone new Otten or a day one or 2 draft pick would be a good idea. Upgrade Hooper, and develop him to replace Henry in a few years and you've done a good job. I've seen a couple of names that might fit that bill at the end of the first round.

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203Pat said:

I think he had a solid season but the off-field stuff with him and his age makes this a smart move. I also like the fact that this basically forces them to make a move to add a #1 WR.

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Lagaffe_07 said:

Can you tell us what do you see on film regarding the impact of playing alongside Warren, Pittman, Downs and Taylor ? What level of coverage does he see?

Vs

Being probably the main guy in NE and seeing top coverage from opposing teams?

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Zuma said:

That's a problem. It's bad. Maybe it's the environment...idk.

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patfanken said:

AJ Brown is NOT the answer. If he were a FA, I'd be banging at his door, but he isn't and the demands the eagles have made clear, PLUS the cap space make him a non-factor. Pierce is a possibility, but I don't see him getting out of Indy. I AM excited about the continuing development of Williams, Boutte, Douglas, etc and how they will improve in their 2nd year in this offense and with Maye. I think we can replace Diggs' production with a FA addition no named Brown, or Pierce, but I don't see us adding anyone that will give the "cult" a hard on, like Brown would have done.

Remember with our "crumby" WR group we were a top 5 team in the NFL in passing yds last year. Adding even a B level FA like Moore or Thomas to go along with continuing improvement of Boutte and Williams we SHOULD be able to maintain that stature next season. We need to improve our 2nd TE with someone new Otten or a day one or 2 draft pick would be a good idea. Upgrade Hooper, and develop him to replace Henry in a few years and you've done a good job. I've seen a couple of names that might fit that bill at the end of the first round.

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Rob0729 said:

I don't think it is going to Brown and Pierce now. I think it could be DJ Moore and one of them.

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Ring 6 said:

He would do more here because he would have the best deep thrower in the NFL. His average delightful of throw was 18.7 yards. The great before it was 22.
With Maye he is far more valuable than a guy who catches a bunch of short passes. They can be found easily. A deep target for a big armed qb is a home run.

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Bill Lee said:

Maybe I'm a relentless homer, but it seems he helped us by coming here, and now he helps us by leaving.

He helped us by coming here because he was enough of a "name player" to help make other players and fans see that we were serious about improving in 2025, and as many are saying, once he got here he showed a lot of leadership.

He's helping by leaving by opening up $20M spending money for better players, maybe at WR, maybe not. Also, maybe he was a "progress stopper" for Boutte? Time will tell.

As for the off field stuff, maybe he should consider coming less? Those NFL paychecks aren't going to be heading his way too much longer, yet child support lasts till at least 18.

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Nunchucks said:

Too many people are sleeping g on Kyle Williams. This guy has an opportunity and the physical ability to take it to the next level. Excited to see what he does with the chance.

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n1997y said:

Indy has no strings on Pierce. The only things keeping him from getting out of Indy are the $$$ they offer, and whatever sentimental attachments he has formed for the city and his teammates. Pats being legit Super Bowl contenders after getting there this year make a strong counter to the sentimental attachments. So it comes down to dollars. On that, and also a bit of sentiment, Indy showed how they feel when they tagged Jones not Pierce. I don’t think there’s a huge barrier to the Pats signing Pierce, if they really want to make the necessary commitment. Four years would keep him into Drake’s second contract, which might help with cap management.

Good point about last season. My view was that the WR corps last season was pretty good. So even keeping Diggs and growing the youngsters would be good enough to compete next year, especially if the OL is better at protecting Maye next year. Releasing Diggs and signing even a slight upgrade would be good. Any additional upgrades would just be gravy.

Agree totally about TEs. And any incremental improvements there benefit WRs too. But to me biggest bang for the buck on offense is improving the OL.

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Triumph said:

Not if there isnt time to complete long passes.

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