Was the Stefon Diggs boat controversy much ado about nothing?
Diggs was present and active at the New England Patriots' OTA practice on Monday, quelling concerns about his future with the team after a video surfaced of him on a boat handing an unidentified pink substance to three women during Memorial Day Weekend. The star wide receiver did not attend the voluntary sessions last week.
Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said he isn't concerned about Diggs' previous absence from OTAs. Diggs, who is recovering from a torn ACL suffered in Week 8 of last season, didn't look limited Monday as his reps were plentiful in the practice.
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Tom E. Curran and Phil Perry watched the OTA session at Gillette Stadium and discussed what they saw in the latest episode of the Patriots Talk Podcast. Here were their biggest takeaways:
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Stefon Diggs returns
While there was speculation about Diggs potentially being cut as a result of the boat video, Curran reports "there will be no fallout" from the incident.
"The sense I'm getting is there will be no fallout based on what happened last weekend," Curran said. "There's been a lot of talk about it being on the table that Stefon Diggs could be released. I think the table can be put away. There's nothing on the table regarding that."
Curran also believes, based on what he watched on Monday, Diggs is trending toward being on the Patriots' active roster in Week 1.
"It would look to me as if he might be a player who could be taking snaps in preseason games," he said. "And if you said, 'Do you think based on what you saw that Stefon Diggs will start the season on the Patriots' active roster?' I would say, 'Yes, I would say that.'"
Perry took note of a moment Diggs had with his new quarterback, Drake Maye.
"During that hurry-up period, Drake Maye hit Diggs with a pass. As soon as he completed it and put the football down, (Diggs) made a motion to Maye and went right to him, bee-lined it to the quarterback to discuss either whatever happened there or where he was supposed to align, and there was a little conversation there," Perry said.
"So I think those moments are important, especially when he's missed as much time as he's missed, just to try to make the most of every rep that you're out there for with each other."
Drake Maye's best day yet
Maye experienced some growing pains in the first two open OTA practices, but the second-year QB enjoyed his best public practice so far on Monday, according to Perry.
"I thought this was, for the entire offense and Maye especially, this was the best of the three OTA practices that media folks have been able to watch. Clearly, far and away," Perry said.
"By my count, he completed 14 of his 16 competitive reps, for whatever that's worth. But just in general, I thought much more accurate. There were still times where it took a second for the ball to come out, maybe a little longer than he would like or his pass-catchers would like.
"... But otherwise, some of the highlights of the day were a well-timed, great touch pass to Kayshon Boutte on a corner route, another similar pass in that the touch was just really on point on a wheel route to Rhamondre Stevenson that he had to lay out for."
Curran agreed with Perry's assessment.
"They were ridiculous throws," he said. "The one to Boutte was a deep corner, about 25 yards downfield. ... It was such a good throw, and a great catch by Stevenson too."
Efton Chism III flashing potential
Chism, a promising UDFA wide receiver out of Eastern Washington, caught all seven of his targets in Monday's practice. According to Perry, Diggs acknowledged Chism's strong performance with a pat on the helmet.
Also in the episode:
- Josh McDaniels says Drake Maye is a quick study, generally doesn't make the same mistake twice.
- Jahlani Tavai goes down with what seemed like a serious injury at practice.