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Some Patriots news and notes on this Tuesday:
1) Mike Reiss appeared on Toucher & Hardy on Monday on 98.5 The Sports Hub, talking about the upcoming Patriots training camp.
Reiss said during the interview that veteran wideout Stefon Diggs had already reported early. He added that Diggs was part of a group that included both the quarterbacks and other offensive players, as well as guys who, like Diggs, are still recovering from an injury.
Based on the initial PUP list that came out, which had four players on PUP and four on the non-football injury list, the fact Diggs was not on either of those groups of names is a great sign. That means he should be a full participant in the coming days, which is going to be key as things start ramping up.
When it comes to having a top-tier wideout, that’s something that as Reiss pointed out is something we’re not used to seeing. Now that the Patriots potentially have one, Diggs’ presence has apparently been noticeable when he’s out there, and Reiss told a story about his impressions having been down this road many years ago.
“I love to tell the story. When Randy Moss first came to the Patriots in 2007, and we were watching practice, and I watched him run, and I said, I’ve never seen that,” said Reiss. “He is going so fast, but it looks so effortless. I always have said, not who’s the next Randy Moss, but who looks different when you’re watching practice as a reporter?”
“I don’t want to say Stefon Diggs is Randy Moss. Please don’t take it this way. But when I was watching the drills in the spring, and maybe this speaks to the rest of the receivers. But he looks different, guys.”
Having Diggs on the field should drastically alter the dynamic and have a trickle-down effect throughout the rest of the players around him. The biggest question with Diggs is whether or not he can accept the role of being someone who, if he draws coverage, can be OK with seeing other guys profit off of that.
Based on what we saw in Buffalo, that remains a key question mark heading into this season.
2) Having a top-flight receiver is certainly something that’s been lacking in recent years. In the past, with Tom Brady under center, the Patriots have had success without big-name players, save for guys like Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski, one of whom is likely a future NFL Hall of Fame player. They also had Danny Amendola, who is remembered less around here for his regular season contributions and more for his clutch play in the postseason.
Three championships later—two of which included Amendola—it’s clear that trio worked out well, with both Edelman and Gronkowski leading the way.
In fact, the Patriots never won a Super Bowl without both Edelman and Gronkowski fully healthy and out there together in the same year, which was an issue for the first few seasons those two played together as both battled significant injuries.
Still, back then, Brady was the guy who elevated those players, as well as the rest of the supporting cast. With Drake Maye, things are definitely going to be different. It’s going to require a bigger effort, and that’s likely why the point of emphasis again this offseason was trying to inject more explosive players into the offense.
Based on the early reports, adding both Kyle Williams and TreVeyon Henderson through the draft should pay dividends. Both looked outstanding during minicamp and each built up quite a bit of momentum heading into training camp.
Veteran free agent addition Mack Hollins will start on PUP, but he’s a solid pass-catcher who is athletic and should be a guy who can make plays. He had his best season playing for Josh McDaniels out in Las Vegas in 2022, hauling in 57 passes for 690 yards and four touchdowns. He finished last season in Buffalo catching 31 passes for 378 yards and five touchdowns.
His biggest contribution should be in the red zone, where he caught 5 passes, with four of them being touchdowns last season. That’s more than any other Patriots receiver had in the red area (Demario Douglas led the New England with 4 catches, 1 TD) in 2024.
Meanwhile, Douglas remains a young, shifty, talented guy who quietly had a productive 2024. He finished the season tied with Hunter Henry with the team lead in receptions with 66, along with 621 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns.
But the receiver room hasn’t had an explosive playmaker since Moss, who was complemented by Wes Welker. With Diggs, they may finally have a quality player who should help them make an impact.
After all, Diggs helped elevate Josh Allen, and other young quarterbacks have benefited from having explosive players around them. We’ve seen it from Joe Burrow out in Cincinnati, who has benefitted from playing with college teammate, Ja’Marr Chase. Tua Tagovailoa has had Tyreek Hill. Patrick Mahomes previously had Hill, and he’s had tight end, Travis Kelce. Sam Darnold, who, prior to last year, many had given up on, looked like a completely different player with someone like Justin Jefferson.
The hope now is that Diggs can be that player for Maye. If that happens, that should drastically alter the conversation in the coming months, especially after watching an offense that finished near the bottom of the league in nearly every category last season.
3) As far as what those expectations might be, Tom Curran appeared on WEEI last week, and the biggest thing he mentioned is essentially what many of us are already thinking.
How good will this New England Patriots team really be in 2025?
Curran likens this period to the two transitions the club went through from the time both Pete Carroll and Bill Belichick arrived, where there was both a lot of intrigue and uncertainty around the expectations people had back then.
“I would say it’s been such an interesting run, not to get too up on a soapbox about it, but the interest in so many of the seasons was, how good will this team be?” said Curran. “Is it still an elite team? Is it still a final four team? Will it win the Super Bowl? That it became commonplace. It wasn’t a question whether or not it would make the playoffs or not. When I started and you were starting and Ted [Johnson] was on the team, it was, how would they follow up Bill Parcells, and how would Pete Carroll be? So I look at it as more throwback to that period of time from 1997 to 2001, going into that year, where you don’t know what you’re going to get.”
“We can presume it. And when we look at this team and we have in the glass half full optimism of the offseason, we see a seven, eight, or nine-win team or even a 10-win team.”
Curran also mentioned that the tough part about this current club is the fact that the Patriots do have players who are being paid like top-tier guys, but several of them haven’t lived up to those expectations.
“They got top 10 paid guys like [Mike] Onwenu and Stevenson are paid top 10 at their position,” said Curran. “But [Kyle] Dugger isn’t really a top 10 player, nor are really any of the other guys. You could maybe say Milton Williams. They don’t have any. So we’re presuming that each of these guys is going to play the way he could and should with a new coaching staff and better players around them. So there’s a lot of intrigue on my part.”
“I’m very intrigued to see how the Josh McDaniels offense really looks and how much it takes advantage of Drake Maye, how much better the offensive line really can be, because it is razor thin in terms of depth. Is this defense going to have Keion White turn into a top-tier player, [Christian] Barmore turned into a top-tier player. Milton Williams played the way he did. The two linebackers play at a level that they really haven’t played and become playoff performers. So there’s a lot of intrigue.”
“If everybody plays the way we presume, hell, it’s a 10-win team. But if they don’t and there’s injuries, we could be, again, looking at a six or seven-win team. We’re very glass half full right now, guys, I think.”
4) One interesting thing that Curran did bring up is the situation the Patriots are likely facing after this season. According to Spotrac, the Patriots currently have $60 million in available cap space, but heading into 2026, that number drops to under $9 million.
They have some key decisions coming up after the season. Christian Gonzalez is currently heading into his third season in New England, which will potentially make getting him extended a priority after 2025 comes to an end. If Drake Maye performs well, he’s another player who, following next year, could also be up for his own long-term deal.
That likely means this year is going to be a key season for the club to decide where they’ll shed salary, and it could include some of the guys who are currently making a lot of money. Milton Williams ($29 million), Stefon Diggs ($26.5 million), Mike Onwenu ($25 million), Carlton Davis ($20 million), Christian Barmore ($17 million), and Kyle Dugger ($17 million) currently lead the way as guys with the biggest cap hits next season.
Onwenu and Dugger are likely the two names to watch, with both not exactly having played up to the level that warrants their current contracts thus far. Both currently have the largest cap hits ($21 million, $15.264 million, respectively) heading into 2025.
“It’s the cost of doing business, and that’s part of what I think the Patriots should probably start thinking about spending their money towards is trying to re-up some of these guys because they actually have very little cap space already for next year,” said Curran. “They’re in the red. Now it’s a long time away and things will change, but their cap space has been largely eliminated for next year. So you’re going to have to roll some of that $60 million that you have, even though it’s going to be dissipated, you’re going to have to roll some of that into 2026 to get yourself right.”
“But you have to look at Gonzalez, and then you’re going to have to look at Maye, who are two premium position players. And it isn’t too early to at least look and forecast what you’re going to have to consider with Drake Maye, because it could be if Tua is making 50 million plus and Trevor Lawrence making 55 and inflation continues to indicate it, you could be looking at some ridiculous $70 million a year value contract if Drake may plays the way a third overall pick with great potential should.”
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