Bedard: Patriots finally land some help for Drake Maye in Stefon Diggs

The Patriots have reached an agreement with Stefon Diggs on a 3-year deal with $26 million guaranteed, a source confirmed. It was first reported by Adam Schefter.

BSJ ANALYSIS 

Of course we'll need to see the details, but this smells like a 2-year deal and then we'll see. I'm fine with that. It's been reported as a 3-year deal at $69 million. There's no way the Patriots, unless Mike Vrabel totally changed this, is paying a 32-year-old receiver coming off ACL surgery $33 million. No way.

I'm willing to wager substantially that the base is really 2 years and $26 million, which is totally reasonable. It's less than the $15 million he reportedly was seeking. Willing to bet that first year has hefty per-game roster bonuses. He tore his ACL in late October. He's been filmed working out and his rehab is going well, but to expect him on the field before October would be a bit of a pipe dream.

Still, Schefter is putting that out there ... that would be some kind of feat.

Don't even really care about the finances. The Patriots had the money, and they have spent it.

From talking to people in Houston, Diggs, who was named a captain, was great. He spent a lot of additional time with the young receivers on the team. He also spent time with the young defensive backs to help them as well.

The Patriots badly needed a player like this - for the young receiver room, and for Drake Maye. Diggs also lends a little gravitas to the Patriots that they could attract a well-respected veteran offensive player.

And, he also got Christian Gonzalez pretty good last season.

As soon as Diggs is up to speed - which is no small thing - I would stack the Patriots receivers like this:

WR1 Open
WR2 Diggs
WR3 Demario Douglas
WR4 Mack Hollins
WR5 Kendrick Bourne

Everything else is up for grabs, but Ja'Lynn Polk is up next.

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