The Stefon Diggs criminal charges that were brought to light Tuesday could threaten to derail the New England Patriots‘ dream 2025 season.
According to NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, Diggs’ status is very much up in the air, and he laid out the potential circumstances involving Diggs’ status while doing an appearance on “Good Morning Football” on NFL Network on Wednesday morning.
Diggs, of course, was charged with felony strangulation and misdemeanor assault and battery stemming from a disagreement with his personal chef earlier in December.
The veteran receiver, who is in the first year of a three-year, $63.5 million contract signed this offseason, leads the Patriots in receptions (82) and receiving yards (970) and is third on the team with four receiving touchdowns.
The Patriots (13-3) will close their regular season with a meeting against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday in Foxborough. They can clinch the AFC’s No. 1 seed with a win and a Denver Broncos loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
Stefon Diggs’ Status Is Very Much Up In The Air
According to police reports, the incident in question took place Dec. 2, which means the star wideout has now played three games since it happened. In that span, Diggs has posted 18 catches for 245 yards and one receiving touchdown while helping New England go 2-1.
Yet, Rapoport presented the possibility of Diggs being suspended indefinitely while also being placed on the commissioner’s exempt list — and compared him to another former Patriots player who missed eight games on the exempt list in 2024.
“You have a player who is charged with a felony alleging violence,” Rapoport said. “We have seen other players in similar situations — Jabrill Peppers comes to mind — to be placed on the commissioner’s exempt list when the league sees that it is necessary.”
The NFL Commissioner’s Exempt List Explained
So far the Patriots have voiced their support of Diggs, who categorically denied the allegations.
But according to Rapoport, Diggs landing on Commissioner Roger Goodell’s exempt list is a plausible outcome.
“A lot more information needs to come out,” Rapoport said. “But certainly Diggs being placed on the commissioner’s exempt list at least is possible, and we do not know his status for New England and in the NFL moving forward.”
Patriots fans may be familiar with the exempt list, since Peppers found himself on it after he was arrested for alleged strangulation and drug charges.
But in case you forget, the NFL has the exempt list in place to serve, effectively, as paid leave for players going through legal trouble or other unique situations.
“The exempt list is a special player status available to clubs only in unusual circumstances. The list includes those players who have been declared by the commissioner to be temporarily exempt from counting within the active [roster] limit. Only the commissioner has the authority to place a player on the exempt list.”
If Diggs landed on the exempt list, the Patriots would have a free roster spot to add a player — presumably a receiver — while Diggs was deemed ineligible.
Though the Patriots would gain some flexibility, roster wise, Diggs being placed on the list would be problematic.
“[The NFL] could essentially take Diggs off the field, put him on the commissioner’s exempt list, which puts him to the side and says basically ‘you are allowed to play again when your legal situation is dealt with,'” Rapoport said. “That is a very serious thing.
“We just don’t know if [Diggs] will be available [to the Patriots]. The facts will come in the coming days. But the NFL still needs to figure out what it wants to do with Stefon Diggs.”
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