Stefon Diggs is back in the Minnesota Vikings conversation. Garrett Podell of CBS Sports included Minnesota as a possible landing spot for Diggs while outlining ideal fits for 10 of the top remaining free agents as the draft approaches.
The idea lands with weight because Diggs was released by the New England Patriots before free agency began, even after a 2025 season that reminded teams what he can still do. He was 32 years old, coming off a torn ACL, and still led the Patriots with 1,013 receiving yards, four touchdowns and 85 catches. His 83.3% catch rate was the second-highest by a wide receiver in the past 45 seasons, according to CBS Sports Research. Only Michael Thomas, who caught 85% of his targets in 2018, graded higher.
Podell said the Patriots let go of Diggs because the cap hits on his deal were set to jump from $10.5 million to $26.5 million in each of the next two seasons. That made the numbers harder to carry, even after Diggs became one of the 2025 AFC champions' most reliable targets. The Vikings angle also makes sense on paper because Minnesota already has mostly finished its 2026 free agency work, with Kyler Murray as its major addition, and Diggs has both prior history with the team and a history with Murray that keeps the reunion talk alive.
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The complication is that the football case does not sit alone. Podell noted that Diggs has a legal situation with a trial date now set for May 4, a date that sits directly in the middle of the offseason calendar and hangs over any team considering him. He also pointed out that Kevin O'Connell was not Minnesota's head coach when Diggs last played for the Vikings, another reminder that this would not be a simple return to the same locker room he left.
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That is what makes Diggs different from a routine free-agent name on a list. The production is still there, the fit can be argued, and the Vikings have a connection strong enough to make the discussion real. But the legal timetable and the contract history mean any team that moves first will be betting that the version of Diggs it signs is the one that just posted one of the best catch rates of the past half-century, not the one attached to the problems around him.
