Patriots' Mike Vrabel Issues Strong Statement on Stefon Diggs

The New England Patriots made a long-awaited upgrade to their wide receiver room this offseason with the addition of veteran wideout Stefon Diggs, who comes aboard from the Houston Texans on a three-year deal to hopefully iron out this team's receiving woes from the past few seasons.

Though the addition of Diggs does provide its excitement, there's one main concern consistently mentioned alongside the new Patriots wideout when mapping his outlook for year one: his injury.

Being limited to only eight games last season due to an ACL tear, many have wondered exactly how healthy Diggs will be entering his first year with the Patriots, with some even questioning whether the wideout will be ready for Week One at all.

Yet, if you're asking head coach Mike Vrabel, he's seen some extremely positive signs from Diggs during his recovery process.

"I think he's doing everything– like everybody else, he's working hard, and I think he's excited about being here and being a Patriot," Vrabel said. "He's a motivated player, he's a hungry player, just like everybody else that's here and that's working. That's been the most exciting thing, I think for me, is that they're asking good questions. They're into it. They know that some things that are going to be different, and that change happens every year."

Diggs enters the fold with a bit of a chip on his shoulder. The Patriots will be the Pro Bowl talent's third team in three years, and he'll enter the 2025 campaign with the task of proving himself after suffering from his brutal knee injury in the middle of his last season.

However, even with those lingering wrinkles to iron out from a health standpoint, Vrabel clearly likes what he's seen from his veteran wideout so far.

Before getting injured last season, Diggs was having a productive year, finishing with 47 receptions, 496 yards, and four total touchdowns as a valuable component in Houston's passing offense. Now, he'll have a chance to best those numbers this coming year with New England as Drake Maye's potential number one target, perhaps setting the stage for an electric year on the offensive side of the ball for 2025.

It all starts with getting back to full health, but when asking those in the building, things seem to be trending in the right direction.