Patriots’ Stefon Diggs Draws Growing Concerns

It looks like the New England Patriots' big offseason addition at receiver may be going through some growing pains adjusting to his new offense.

Stefon Diggs, the Patriots' free agent acquisition from this summer, started camp on a high note. Following last season's ACL tear, Diggs found himself ahead of schedule in his recovery, back on the field in full capacity in training camp, with all signs pointing towards a Week 1 return for the regular season.

Notably positive news to start his Patriots tenure. But now, Diggs' status has shifted in recent days.

The Patriots' wideout did not participate in New England's preseason opener vs. the Washington Commanders, and while he's been suiting up in practice, his status for Week 1 has been thrown back up in the air, with Mike Vrabel noting, “we’ll see when Week 1 comes," with Diggs himself also labeling himself as a "we'll see" situation.

And with a new camp update from MassLive's Karen Guregian, there might even be some deeper concerns with Diggs' fit being on the field, claiming that the Patriots' veteran has since "disappeared" from the offense in practice.

“Based on his ineffectiveness in recent outings, has he suffered some type of a setback? Is he unhappy about his touches? It’s hard to know for certain,” Guregian wrote. “But there’s little disputing the fact that the star receiver, who was the team’s best wideout early in camp, has disappeared from the offense in recent days. While he’s consistently been impressive in 1-on-1s, and 7-on-7s, he’s been an afterthought during full team drills.”

Diggs started off being viewed as one of, if not Drake Maye's top target for the season ahead, and with a positive recovery track in camp and health seemingly on par, that seemed to be on a good pace heading into preseason.

In the weeks following, though, that has since seen a considerable shift, as Diggs has now gone quiet in the passing attack, perhaps sounding some alarms on the 31-year-old and his future in this offense.