The New England Patriots have informed Stefon Diggs that they are releasing him ahead of the free agency deadline. A move that, despite still drawing some shock, could have still been somewhat expected.

Diggs and the Patriots part ways after one year together, after Diggs signed a three-year, $63.5 million contract with the team. He was the most productive receiver on the team and a genuine locker-room leader.

But in the end, numerous factors could have led the team to move on from him. Some were on the field stuff and other reasons may also include off-the-field information.

Either way, what's next for the Patriots after this move is anybody's guess.

All offseason, the Patriots had problems to fix for the next season. But they were the right kind of problems, good problems, so to speak. Diggs' release may have been the hardest decision they had to make.

Now the Patriots can free up some space in order to make some interesting financial decisions over the coming days.

Diggs's production was a strong argument for keeping him, yet his salary cap number was $26.5 million in 2026. With that number, $5.7 million consisted of his signing bonus proration ($4M), and parts of his salary ($1.7M) were initially fully guaranteed. An extra $6 million of his salary would have been added to that group of guarantees come March 13th. When you break down those numbers, it's easy to see why the Patriots did what they did.

The cap impact from releasing Diggs results in a net savings of $15.795 million. The Patriots are now $57.08 million under the NFL’s salary cap. With these savings, many expect the Patriots to get aggressive in pursuit of a wide receiver prospect now.

Diggs evolved into the emotional core of the Patriots' locker room in 2025. It was a breath of fresh air seeing him take on this role as a veteran player. With him gone now, that creates a gap in the motivational voice of leadership.

The phrase, "we all we got, we all we need," spawned from Diggs' pregame rally cries. Now someone else will have to fill that void in 2026.

The Patriots also now have seven wide receivers on their roster. One must now wonder whether Diggs' release creates a shakeup in who moves to the forefront.

Or will someone new come in from the outside?

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