With training camp right around the corner, wide receiver Stefon Diggs is among several big-name players who remain without a home.
Diggs became a free agent on March 11 when the Patriots released him in a cost-cutting move.
The Patriots replaced Diggs, their leading wide receiver last season, with a true No. 1 wideout in A.J. Brown. Diggs admits he is no longer a No. 1 wide receiver, but he said he’s better than any of the NFL’s No. 2 wide receivers.
“My opinion, I can compete with anybody,” Diggs said in a video on his YouTube channel last week. “But take those [top wide receivers] as your 1s, right? You can’t name a No. 2 better than me.”
Diggs said “presumably” all 32 NFL teams have their No. 1 wide receiver for this season. He argued, though, that there are only seven “real [No.] 1s” in the league.
“There’s not a No. 2 on a team — let’s presumably give people the credit and just say, ‘OK, you want to take the No. 1 spot away,’” Diggs said. “Name your No. 2 receiver right now, and tell me how much he makes, and then my last question is: Is he better than me?”
Diggs, 32, underestimates some of the top receiving duos in the league.
The Bengals have Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins; the Cowboys have CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens; the Rams have Davante Adams and Puka Nacua; the Patriots have Brown and Romeo Doubs; the Lions have Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams; and the Vikings have Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison.
To his point, though, Diggs still has something left. He had a team-leading 85 receptions for 1,013 yards and four touchdowns last season, adding 14 catches for 110 yards and a touchdown in four postseason games.
Diggs has seven 1,000-yard seasons in his career.
The NFL closed its review of Diggs last month after he was found not guilty in May of assaulting his private chef in a pay dispute. Still, he remains in search of his next team.
“I brought myself here,” Diggs said. “Unfortunate at times, but I’m blessed. I’m going to be exactly where I’m supposed to be. . . . I’ll be fine. I know I’ll be fine.”
