{"id":17359,"date":"2025-03-13T22:24:09","date_gmt":"2025-03-13T22:24:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=17359"},"modified":"2025-03-13T22:24:09","modified_gmt":"2025-03-13T22:24:09","slug":"breaking-news-2-free-agents-patriots-must-avoid-signing-in-2025-nfl-free-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=17359","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING NEWS : 2 free agents Patriots must avoid signing in 2025 NFL free agency"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Stefon<\/p>\n

The New England Patriots had to say goodbye to a longtime player while also opening a path for a young player to move elsewhere. And as the offseason continues, here are two players the Patriots must avoid signing in the 2025 NFL free agency period.<\/p>\n

Coming off a disastrous 4-13 season, the Patriots have many needs. At the forefront of that issue is getting a better offense line and more playmakers. Both of those things should help young quarterback Drake Maye take off.<\/p>\n

The Patriots already doled out $104 million to reel in defensive tackle Milton Williams. They also grabbed linebacker Harold Landry and cornerback Carlton Davis. Those defensive moves highlight the need for offensive help, but the Patriots have to be careful about whom they seek.<\/p>\n

Patriots should avoid WR Stefon Diggs<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"2<\/p>\n

There is nothing but ugly on the Patriots\u2019 depth chart at the wide receiver position. DeMario Douglas, Kendrick Bourne, Kayshon Boutte, Mack Hollins. Yuck, yuck, yuck, and quadruple yuck.<\/p>\n

It may scream like a desperate need for a talent like Diggs. However, NFL teams can\u2019t expect Diggs to perform like his old self throughout the 2025 season. He\u2019s coming off a major injury that occurred fairly late in the 2024 season. It could be December before Diggs is fully healthy. And he will be 32 years old by then. That\u2019s well past the prime age for NFL wide receivers.<\/p>\n

There are things not to like about Diggs, according to espn.com.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn ACL injury limited Diggs to eight games last season,\u201d Matt Bowen wrote. \u201cHis play speed is also starting to slip. But Diggs is a quality route runner who, once healthy and cleared to play next season, can create separation and produce after the catch.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another thing that weighs in Diggs\u2019 favor as a good free agent signing is his locker room presence. Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud is still a fan of Diggs, according to a team transcript via nfl.com.<\/p>\n

\u201cMan, y’all know me, that’s my boy, I would love to have Stef back,\u201d Stroud said. \u201cAnd man, I think we were just getting started. Like you see he was having so much fun and me and him were starting to build a rapport.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike Stef came in with, \u2018I just want to win. I don’t care how it looks, I don’t care how many catches I get,’\u201d Stroud said. \u201cHe really like meant that too, and you could see in how much joy he had being around the guys, so I would say yeah. Some of those times we’re not necessarily trying to cater to one person or cater to three people or five. The Texans want to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another positive is a veteran receiver like Diggs would be able to take Maye under his wing and give valuable advice about how to get the ball in the right places and help receivers excel. Unfortunately for Diggs, what Maye needs more than anything is playmakers. And it\u2019s unclear that Diggs can be the consistent playmaker at the NFL level at this point in his career.<\/p>\n

One thing that hurts Diggs is the Patriots\u2019 approach to free agency, seeking players that have prior experience with Mike Vrabel and his staff, according to nesn.com.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how you could do free agency any differently,\u201d Vrabel said. \u201cIt\u2019s important to (Patriots owner Robert Kraft trusted executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf) and myself to bring the right people onto this football team. If we have coaches that trust and believe in players, we have to take that into consideration. I think that\u2019s critical.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to evaluate the tape, then it\u2019s about the person. I\u2019ve seen from these players that they aren\u2019t going to go anywhere. And the other ones we bring in and the others that are in the locker room right now. They\u2019re resilient and they\u2019re not going to back down. It really helps when you know somebody, or you\u2019ve coached them, or a trusted personnel member has been with that player. It\u2019s important.\u201d<\/p>\n

G Teven Jenkins should not be in the mix<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Patriots have a lot of needs on the offensive line, but Jenkins isn\u2019t an answer to fill one of them. For one thing, he has struggled to get on the field, according to espn.com.<\/p>\n

\u201cJenkins has played in only 38 of a possible 68 career games,\u201d Matt Bowen wrote. \u201cDrafted as a tackle, Jenkins has the tools to drive defenders off the ball in the run game. But he tends to be more segmented as a mover in pass protection.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yes, the Patriots want to run the football. But it\u2019s of the utmost importance to protect the quarterback. And that\u2019s not Jenkins\u2019 strong suit.<\/p>\n

The Bears didn\u2019t like Jenkins as part of their plans to protect young quarterback Caleb Williams. General manager Ryan Poles said the team knows where to go in free agency, according to a post on X by Adam Jahns.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we can be aggressive in the way that we approach this offseason and get players in here that can help us take it to the next level,\u201d Poles said.<\/p>\n

And one of those players won\u2019t be Jenkins. It might be good for Jenkins to find a home with a run-first team. Maybe the Ravens or another team with a run-committed approach. He simply doesn\u2019t fit with the Patriots.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The New England Patriots are tying to establish a new culture, and here are two free agents they must avoid signing in 2025 NFL free agency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17360,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[74,18,926,684,889],"class_list":["post-17359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-england-patriots","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-nfl","tag-nfl-editorials","tag-nfl-free-agency","tag-stefon-diggs"],"yoast_head":"\nBREAKING NEWS : 2 free agents Patriots must avoid signing in 2025 NFL free agency - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=17359\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING NEWS : 2 free agents Patriots must avoid signing in 2025 NFL free agency - 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