Former Buffalo Bills receiver Stefon Diggs is back in the AFC Championship game, aiming to bring the New England Patriots to the Super Bowl after a change in his arraignment date for a felony assault charge.
Diggs is facing charges of felony strangulation or suffocation stemming from an incident on Dec. 2, when the Patriots receiver was accused of assaulting a former personal chef amid a payment dispute. Though Diggs faces likely punishment from the NFL, the league’s timeline for reviewing serious incidents — and a delay in his criminal cast — has paved the way for him to play in Sunday’s AFC Championship game against the Denver Broncos.
Stefon Diggs Requested Delay in Criminal Proceedings
Diggs was initially scheduled to be arraigned on Friday, two days before the AFC title game, but requested a delay. Boston 25 reported in January that a judge set a new date of Feb. 13, five days after Super Bowl LX.
As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk noted, the delay all but assured that Diggs would not face a suspension before the conclusion of the NFL season.
“It was already unlikely that the NFL would place Patriots receiver Stefon Diggs on the Commissioner Exempt list (i.e., paid leave) before the Super Bowl. It’s now virtually certain it won’t happen,” Florio wrote.
The NFL regularly reviews criminal allegations and hands out punishment, even in cases where criminal proceedings come to a conclusion without charges. That was the case for former Bills edge rusher Von Miller, who was suspended for four games close to one year after he was accused of domestic assault.
Diggs has denied the allegation, saying in a statement through lawyer David Meier that the receiver did not assault anyone.
“They are unsubstantiated, uncorroborated, and were never investigated — because they did not occur,” Meier said in a statement (per WBZ). “The timing and motivation for making the allegations is crystal clear: they are the direct result of an employee-employer financial dispute that was not resolved to the employee’s satisfaction. Stefon looks forward to establishing the truth in a court of law.”
Stefon Diggs Returns to AFC Title Game
Diggs helped turn the Bills into Super Bowl contenders after his arrival via trade in 2020, leading the team to the AFC Championship game that season but falling short in a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Bills never returned to the conference title game with Diggs, ultimately trading him to the Houston Texans in 2024 for a second-round pick. After an injury-shortened season in Houston, Diggs signed with the Patriots and became a top target for quarterback Drake Maye.
Diggs made 85 receptions for 1,013 yards and four touchdowns this season.
The Bills did reach the AFC Championship game last season, but again lost to the Chiefs and took a major turn after losing in the divisional round this year. The Bills fired head coach Sean McDermott, launching a wide-ranging search for a new coach that includes some unconventional candidates. The team interviewed longtime NFL quarterback Philip Rivers, who has never coached above the high school level.
Ex-Bills WR Stefon Diggs Playing in Patriots-Broncos After Criminal Case Delay