Have Stefon Diggs and the Minnesota Vikings reached a point of no return?
The star receiver was absent from Wednesday’s practice for non-injury reasons, fueling speculation (which originated with a cryptic tweet) that he wants out. Diggs, like teammate Adam Thielen, seemingly is frustrated with the struggles of the Vikings’ passing attack, despite the team’s 2-2 record.
That brings us to Thursday, when NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport shared this update on Diggs:
On #Vikings WR Stefon Diggs: His frustration with the organization has been palpable. He was not at practice yesterday for non-injury reasons. Teammates are left wondering if he wants to be there. The team is adamant he is not available for a trade, barring some massive deal.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 3, 2019
The Diggs drama has led many to speculate that the New England Patriots could pursue a trade for the 25-year-old. However, NBC Sport’s Boston’s Tom E. Curran on Wednesday reported that a deal is highly unlikely.
Further complicating matters for the Patriots is the team’s current salary cap situation, which has no room for Diggs and his $9.48 million cap hit. Yes, the cap can be maneuvered in a variety of ways — on of Bill Belichick’s favorite lines — but restructuring contracts of aging veteran players to make room nevertheless is not ideal. The bill must be paid at some point.
Here are the teams closest to the cap, per Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer:
With the trade deadline 26 days away, teams tightest to the cap, per this AM's cap report …
1) Vikings $227K
2) Patriots $1.823M
3) Rams $2.076M
4) Giants $2.353M
5) Saints $2.491M
6) Falcons $2.703M
7) Steelers $3.946M
8) Cardinals $5.840M
9) Bucs $5.978M
10) Jets $6.367M— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) October 3, 2019
Listen, we get the speculation. The Patriots passing offense hasn’t looked great, and the team’s running game currently looks ill-equipped to carry the load like it did last season.
But executing a trade for an expensive, shiny wideout? It’s fun to talk about but probably isn’t realistic.
