New England Patriots
The decision comes after Diggs was found not guilty of assault and strangulation charges last month.
Stefon Diggs AP Photo/Julio Cortez
-
NFL says no discipline for Stefon Diggs under its personal conduct policy
The NFL has decided that there’s not enough evidence to prove that Stefon Diggs violated its personal conduct policy.
The league’s review of the situation is now closed, according to multiple reports.
“The league notified Stefon Diggs today that it concluded its investigation and there is insufficient evidence to support a finding of a personal conduct policy violation,” league spokesman Brian McCarthy told the Associated Press.
Last month, a Massachusetts court acquitted Diggs in a case that had involved strangulation and assault charges. Diggs was accused of slapping and choking his personal chef during a dispute over payment. He pleaded not guilty and was later cleared of all charges.
“The evidence has shown what we’ve maintained from day one: Mr. Diggs was wrongly accused, and this case represents exactly the kind of opportunistic targeting that players can face the moment they step off the field,” Mitch Schuster, one of Diggs’s lawyers, said in a statement at the time.
Diggs has been a free agent since the Patriots cut him in March. He spent one season with the team, helping New England reach the Super Bowl where it eventually lost to Seattle.
This past season was Diggs’s seventh 1,000-yard season in eight years. He caught 85 of his 102 targets for 1,013 yards and four touchdowns.
He had signed a three-year deal worth up to $69 million last offseason with the Patriots. His cap hit was $10.5 million last year and it was scheduled to rise to $26.5 million this season. New England decided to release him. The Patriots later traded for A.J. Brown and signed Romeo Doubs, revamping their wide receiver room.
Coach Mike Vrabel was asked about the possibility of bringing Diggs back during this week’s minicamp.
“I mean, I think we are probably at the number that we would need right now. I would not say anything is off the table,” Vrabel said. “We would want to add anybody that could help us. I am not going to give a percentage on it, but I think we are happy with where we are at right now with the numbers and the people in the receiver room.”
“I appreciate Stefon as a person, as a player and what he did for us last year. I value that. He helped us win football games, helped us get to where we got. But right now I don’t think that that is something that I think we are exploring. But I would never say no.”
Diggs, 32, recently told TMZ that he’s keeping an open mind as he navigates free agency. The Patriots were his fourth NFL stop, following previous stints in Minnesota, Buffalo, and Houston.
Khari A. Thompson
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
Get the latest Boston sports news
Receive updates on your favorite Boston teams, straight from our newsroom to your inbox.
