'They Could Buy Themselves a Grievance, Like Antonio Brown': Mike Florio Explains How the Patriots Could Cut Stefon Diggs Without Paying Much

Stefon Diggs’ recent antics have many questioning why the New England Patriots are still committed to carrying such a controversial figure. Both Patriots fans and NFL followers want the 31-year-old receiver gone before he even takes the field for the team. So, it must be music to their ears that Mike Florio has found a way the club could potentially release Diggs while paying him next to nothing.

The reason why Florio and Chris Simms make such a good duo on ProFootballTalk is because the former gets into the nerdy details of the NFL, while the latter knows the nitty gritty of being a player.

That’s why when Florio delved deep into Diggs’ contract and realized if needed, the Patriots can cut the wideout off without paying him much more than $4 million, Simms was impressed. And so were we.

It’s a loophole that not many have noticed, but think back to how the Patriots handled cutting Antonio Brown. Florio pointed out how New England filed a grievance claim at the time, and they could do the same with Diggs for not rehabbing his knee correctly.

“They could buy themselves a grievance like they did with Antonio Brown,” Florio said. “Antonio Brown had a $9 million signing bonus. After they cut him, following what, one season? They said we’re not paying you anything. It went into the NFL grievance process, and they settled it for $5 million. Maybe that’s what happens.”

The grievance that the Patriots filed was cited after allegations of sexual misconduct and intimidating text messages from Brown surfaced. So, it’s a bit different. But the process Diggs could soon face might be similar.

All in all, the drama has Florio wondering why the Patriots even signed Diggs in the first place, with a three-year, $65.5 million contract at that. It was an odd and surprising fit when the addition was announced. The Pats aren’t exactly known for being one of the league’s top passing offenses right now. But maybe he’s the weapon Drake Maye needs to reach his potential.

That’s why Simms felt the need to explain why New England took the gamble on Diggs.

“They want a proven commodity. They love his versatility; he can do a whole lot of different things, like we talked about when they signed him. And we know the contract isn’t what it really is. It’s a one-year deal basically, with what, $16 million?” Simms asked. 

“He could be that Wes Welker, Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola. He could be that type of guy, and a little more for this New England offense,” he added.

It’s certainly not hard to imagine Diggs in the role of some of those previous Patriots wideouts. He’s a slot receiver who excels with short-area targets, and he can line up on the outside from time to time as well.

The Pats should do everything they can to at least give Diggs a chance to make up for his controversial boating video. But first, he needs to own up to his mistake and issue a public apology for what he did. Or, clarify what he didn’t do, if he’s being falsely accused.

It’s not like Diggs is an injury-prone player. His ACL tear last year was his first muscle tear in his lower body ever. And in workout videos he’s posted lately, he looks as strong and explosive as ever. It seems like he avoided a super serious injury that could’ve ended his career.

There’s a reason why the Patriots were so adamant in signing Diggs to a big deal this offseason. They knew their young quarterback needed a proven veteran receiver, and they wouldn’t have handed him all of the money if his ACL was a concern. 

Diggs still has a lot to prove, but it would be a bit foolish for New England to cut bait this quickly. They should at least give him a chance to clean up his mess.