Commanders To Sign Stefon Diggs

Although Diggs was the Patriots’ leading receiver in 2025, the first season of a three-year, $69MM contract, they released him a few weeks after their Super Bowl LX loss to the Seahawks. The move saved the Patriots $16.8MM and cleared a path for them to add two pricey new starting receivers in A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs.

In addition to freeing up cap space when they moved on from Diggs, the Pats also avoided a potential 2026 suspension for the 32-year-old. At the time, Diggs was facing strangulation and assault charges over an alleged incident with his former chef. But after a Boston jury acquitted Diggs in May, the NFL announced in June that it did not have enough evidence to hand down punishment.

It is unclear how many teams pursued Diggs over the past five months, but Washington stood out as a logical fit after doing little to upgrade its receiving corps in the offseason. The Commanders have a clear-cut No. 1 receiver in Terry McLaurin, but they had no other proven starting options before agreeing to bring in Diggs. The team previously made modest free agent additions (Dyami Brown and Van Jefferson) and spent a third-round pick on Antonio Williams. Those three joined holdovers Treylon Burks, Luke McCaffrey and 2025 fourth-rounder Jaylin Lane in the Commanders’ receiving corps.

Not only were the Commanders in obvious need of another starting-caliber wideout, but Diggs publicly expressed interest in signing with them. The Gaithersburg, Md., native and former Maryland Terrapin continued to see nearby Washington as an intriguing possibility in late July, and the Commanders will indeed be the 11-year veteran’s fifth NFL team. With over $43MM in cap space entering Wednesday, the Commanders had plenty of spending room to pick up Diggs.

Also a former Viking, Bill and Texan, Diggs has five 100-catch and seven 1,000-yard seasons on his resume. While with the Texans in 2024, Diggs was on pace for another 100-catch, 1,000-yard campaign, but he suffered a torn ACL in October and missed the rest of the season. Diggs showed no ill effects in his return from the injury in New England. Despite playing just 55% of offensive snaps over a full 17-game season, the 6-foot, 191-pounder racked up 85 catches for 1,013 yards and four touchdowns.

With Diggs on his way to Washington, it likely slams the door on any chance of the team acquiring 49ers wideout Brandon Aiyuk via trade or in free agency. A former Arizona State teammate of Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, Aiyuk has publicly lobbied to join the Commanders on more than occasion this summer. However, he may have taken a sledgehammer to the possibility when he lashed out at Daniels on social media last month. It continued a pattern of bizarre behavior for Aiyuk, who has not played in a game since he tore his ACL, MCL and meniscus in October 2024.

Aiyuk was away from the the 49ers for most of last season, leading the club to place him on the reserve/left squad list in December. The 49ers previously voided around $26MM in guarantees in Aiyuk’s contract last summer, but he did not file a grievance with the union. Aiyuk has continued to keep his distance from the 49ers, who retain his rights, while taking numerous shots at them on social media.

The 28-year-old Aiyuk claimed last month he would be the “final piece” of the Commanders’ offense, but he has still not applied for reinstatement from the reserve/left squad list. If Aiyuk finally gets around to that important order of business, it would clear the way for the 49ers to release the one-time second-team All-Pro. A team might take a flier on Aiyuk if he reaches the open market, but Washington has found a more stable solution in Diggs.