Patriots quarterback Drake Maye has reacted to New England's impending release of veteran wide receiver Stefon Diggs.
In a short-but-sweet post on Instagram, Maye shared a photo of himself and Diggs smiling and looking happy. He tagged the receiver in the post, and added a "red heart" emoji. Take a peek at that below:
MORE: Replacing Stefon Diggs: How the Patriots Can Find Drake Maye a New Top Target in 2026
The 32-year-old receiver led the Patriots in targets for the 2025 season, which he finished with 1,013 yards on 85 catches. After five seasons in Minnesota and four in Buffalo, he'll now be looking for his third team in as many years.
Diggs is also facing felony strangulation charges, among other allegations, following an altercation with his personal chef. The receiver has since pleaded not guilty and denied the accusations.
Why the Patriots released Diggs
Though there has been no official comment from the team, the decision to release Diggs frees up a significant amount of cap space for New England.
The receiver signed a three-year, $63.5 million deal with the Patriots over the 2025 offseason, but his contract was backloaded in a way that made a one-year stint much more likely. In releasing him at the start of the new league year, the team will save approximately $16.8 million on the cap, and can use that space to sign another (and probably younger) wideout in free agency.
Diggs and Maye have been very complimentary of one another
In what should come as no surprise, considering the team's shock run to the Super Bowl, Diggs and Maye were very complimentary of one another during the 2025 season.
"We got Drake Maye. Drake Maye is a hell of a quarterback," Diggs said, for example, after the Patriots beat the Ravens in December. "I feel like he approaches this game like a young... blank. I don't wanna say his name." (Tom Brady was the answer there.)
Maye was similarly effusive when speaking with reporters a few days after the Pats' loss to the Seahawks in Super Bowl LX.
"I think he's just been a great force this year," Maye said. "I can't say enough about what he's done for us, what he's done for this team and what he's proved to himself. I think I saw him say something about that, proving to himself the player he is and how he can still be a big-time player in this league, and he showcased that."
Coming into the year, Diggs was recovering from an ACL tear, and no one was really sure how well he would perform.
"He's got a lot of juice left in the tank, and he told me the other day he's got a chance to really work on his craft in the offseason," Maye continued. "He really didn't have a chance last offseason coming from an injury, so he's got a chance to get back and working and just trying get whatever's left in his body. I know there's some left, and I'm looking forward to getting a chance to hopefully throw him some more passes and watch [No.] 8 go."
Sadly for Maye, that won't be the case—but hopefully another team will give Diggs a chance to do his thing once free agency starts in earnest on March 11.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Drake Maye Reacts to Patriots' Release of WR Stefon Diggs.
