Although he has been an active participant in training camp, Patriots wide receiver and four-time Pro Bowler Stefon Diggs declined to make clear whether he will be playing come Week 1, as the wideout continues his recovery from an ACL tear he sustained last season.
During an interview with The Athletic's Scoop City podcast published Thursday, Diggs sounded purposely ambiguous when asked what fans should expect from him for the Pats' first contest of the regular season.
"I'm just taking it day by day," he said. "I feel great. I'm pushing the needle always. I'm always doing more than less. We'll see about Week 1. I don't know how I feel about it, we'll see. Coaches aren't too excited, I'm not too excited, I'm just trying to take it day by day. We'll see. It looks like we just don't know where it's gonna go."
Pretty boilerplate stuff, except it would seem Diggs had a certain glimmer in his eye that convinced Russini there was more to the story.
"I feel like you're really trying to tell me something and I'm really bad at reading the signs," she said, smiling.
Russini then pressed Diggs again toward the end of the interview, when she asked, "Are we gonna see you Week 1?"
Again, Diggs smiled, but didn't commit to anything. "I don't know," he said. "It's up in the air right now. You gotta take that up with Coach Vrabel."
Watch that below:
Stefon Diggs played it well when @DMRussini asked him about his status for Week 1 😏 pic.twitter.com/90htMa5OP4
— Scoop City (@ScoopCityShow) August 14, 2025
For what it's worth, coach Mike Vrabel had a pretty incredulous response to Diggs' comments.
“Did you really believe that, Phil? I mean, you’re a smart guy,” Vrabel said Thursday, replying to Patriots beat writer Phil Perry, who reportedly brought up the receiver's remarks. “I don’t know where you went to school—it wasn’t Ohio State. But like, do you really believe that? Do you really believe that, Phil, or are you just trying to bait me into something?”
“I don’t know the context in which he said it, but you’d have to help me. I mean, he’s been out here almost every day,” he continued. “I’m excited of where he’s at and we’ll see when Week 1 comes, but he’s going to practice today. Hopefully he helps us in the red zone, but we can’t predict the future about Week 1. I just know he’s going to be out there today, and he works hard and he cares, which are two important things.”
That's still not a concrete answer, but it sure sounds like Vrabel is expecting Diggs to suit up Sept. 7, when the Pats host the Raiders at Gillette Stadium. We'll just have to run with that.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Patriots' Stefon Diggs Acted So Coy When Asked About Status for Week 1.
