INDIANAPOLIS — Fresh off their run to the Super Bowl, how the Patriots handle their recent and unexpected success moving forward was a popular topic of conversation among NFL staffers of all types who flock to Indy for the annual NFL Scouting Combine.
After talking to coaches, executives and scouts from across the league, here’s some of what we learned after several days in town…
Stefon Diggs’ future in doubt
It was hard to find anyone this week who presumed Stefon Diggs would be back in Foxboro on the contract he signed with the team last offseason. Diggs is slated to make $20.6 million in base salary — $6 million of which becomes fully guaranteed in mid-March — and he’ll turn 33 years old in the fall.
Diggs also has a legal issue that remains unresolved as he was arraigned and pleaded not guilty to felony strangulation and misdemeanor assault charges earlier this month.
When asked about Diggs during media availability periods at the combine, both Mike Vrabel and Eliot Wolf were complimentary of the veteran wideout, but neither committed to having him back for 2026.
“Well, I mean, not only his future, but what he was able to do for us and come in and provide leadership,” Vrabel said of Diggs. “He worked extremely hard in the time that he was rehabbing from the knee. I think he was just a really good presence each and every week.
“As we look to evaluate the football team, we’re doing that constantly, Eliot, myself, Ryan [Cowden], [John Streicher] and Eliot’s staff… Those conversations for each and every player are happening in the meetings in between the ones we have with the draft players here. There’s a lot of things that we’ll do between now and the time that the football season starts. That’s going to be the same with, I would say, most every player on our roster.”
Wolf was asked earlier this week if it was important to have Diggs return, given his on-field contributions.
“Stef had a tremendous season,” Wolf said. “Again, the leadership that he showed was great. And these are conversations that we’ll continue to have and weigh everything and talk about different things as we move forward.”
One general manager this week termed Diggs a “one-year guy,” meaning the kind of player who could help a team like the Patriots in the infancy of a new program — but one that team might not want to build around for the foreseeable future.
Diggs certainly aided in the development of quarterback Drake Maye; he was the team’s top option in the passing game and topped 1,000 yards for the seventh time in his career. He was also lauded in the receiver room by younger pass-catchers like Kayshon Boutte, DeMario Douglas and Kyle Williams for sharing his knowledge of how to play the position.
But the consensus expectation from evaluators in Indy this week was that Diggs won’t be back in New England on his contract as currently constituted.
Barmore a name to watch
Like Diggs, defensive tackle Christian Barmore has a significant amount of cash — $10 million — that becomes fully guaranteed in mid-March. That means that if the Patriots have any reservations about retaining him for 2026 and beyond, they’ll have to move relatively quickly.
Front office sources in Indianapolis this week highlighted Barmore’s name as one to watch as the Patriots sort through their offseason. One called him “unpredictable,” not only because of a misdemeanor charge of assault and battery for which he’ll be arraigned next month. Barmore also has dealt with an array of physical ailments that have limited his playing time over the years — he’s missed time due to blood clots as well as knee issues — and he put together an up-and-down season in 2025.
Asked if Barmore was the kind of person the team wanted to continue to invest in, Wolf replied, “Christian has grown up quite a bit, and we continue to help him with that. He continues to want to make improvements in that area.
“He’s continued to improve on the field. He had a little bit of a lull in the middle of the season there. He wasn’t playing quite as well, but, you know, kicked it up again at the end, and continues to be a key cog in there for us.”
When asked about balancing off-field incidents with on-field potential, Wolf added: “You never want to get the phone call from the security director at night. But this is the world we live in. We expect everyone to behave and act like they’re a professional, and they’re representing not only themselves, but their family, their team, the Krafts, everyone. As we try to build this thing moving forward, we’re going to, we’re going to continue to try to take good people.”
When paired with Milton Williams — and when both are playing at the height of their ability — Barmore can be a game-changing player. But how often will the Patriots get that version of Barmore? How dependable is he? And does he fit the profile of what Vrabel and the rest of the organization are looking for off the field?
Vrabel was asked this week if Barmore’s legal situation will impact his future with the team.
“We want to make sure that these are just in fact accusations,” Vrabel said. “And, I mean, we want to make sure that we have the right people on this football team. That’s the first thing that we want to do. I want to make sure that the people on this football team are the ones that we want on there that share the same beliefs and the same work ethic and the same values and help us build an identity again. And then we’ll evaluate the player for the player.
“Whenever any of those things come to light or there’s a decision and we know more information, then we’ll make a decision on that.”
A final decision in Barmore’s assault and battery case may not arrive ahead of the mid-March date when a significant portion of his salary becomes guaranteed. But his name is one that other clubs had circled this week as they wondered about his fit in Foxboro moving forward.
Maxx Crosby sweepstakes
The Patriots understand they have a real need for edge-rush help. The question being asked in Indy this week is how exactly that need will be addressed. The draft is deep with talented-if-imperfect pass-rushers.
Texas A&M’s Cashius Howell, Oklahoma’s R Mason Thomas, Missouri’s Zion Young and Penn State’s Dani Dennis-Sutton all came up in discussion with evaluators this week as potential fits in Foxboro.
“Speed and violence,” Wolf said when asked what he values in pass-rushers. “Explosiveness. First-step quickness. The ability to win in multiple ways. You can’t just be a run-about-a-hoop guy at this level. There are some guys in college that are able to be successful that way, but you need different things in your toolbox.
“I think the guys that can rush with power are at maybe more of a premium, the guys that are athletic and can rush with power. That’s why, I mean, everyone is looking for pass rushers in this league. It’s not just going to be us. We’ll see if we can improve that spot.”
Young (projected by experts to be a Day 1 pick) and Dennis-Sutton (projected to go later in the draft) might best fit that description as players with some explosiveness but enough in the way of size to still win with power.
Don’t rule out a big swing for Raiders star rusher Maxx Crosby, though. He’s considered to be available, and parting with a low-end first-round pick and then some — the Cowboys gave up a first and a second to acquire defensive tackle Quinnen Williams last season — might be worth it for a team that could lose edge defender K’Lavon Chaisson to free agency.
Crosby was described by multiple sources this week as an ideal fit for the kind of culture and identity Vrabel will be striving for in New England for 2026 and beyond. Crosby has said in the past that he and Vrabel have an “awesome” relationship.
The A.J. Brown dream lives?
For Patriots fans who have been salivating at the opportunity to add a bona fide No. 1 receiver, the dream isn’t dead. But it could cost them.
The Eagles have made it clear they’re open to receiving calls on A.J. Brown, who has posted four consecutive 1,000-yard seasons in Philly. And Vrabel has made it very clear he has an affinity for the man he drafted to the Titans back in 2019.
“Meant a lot,” Vrabel said this week when asked how much his relationship with Brown has meant to him. “I watched him grow. I watched him mature. I’m proud of him, proud of the father that he is. I’m proud of the husband. And that has nothing to do with where he plays or where he played.
“Those are the things that are important. We reach out, text each other during the things that happen good to each other. And sometimes things don’t go so well for the people that you’re close with and you text those, as well. It’s been a two-way street of support and reminders of what got us to where we are here today.”
When asked later if he’d be open to dealing with Brown, Vrabel replied in more general terms.
“I think that we’ll look at everything that we can possibly look at to add to our roster,” Vrabel said. “There’s a lot of back-and-forth. Taking on compensation. And so, I’m sure there’ll be a lot of opportunities for us to talk about trades, not only this week, but as we prepare and get closer to the draft.”
One rival executive wondered if the cost for Brown in a trade would ultimately end up in the range of what the Steelers gave up to acquire Brown’s former Ole Miss teammate DK Metcalf last offseason. The Seahawks received the No. 52 overall pick in that swap, giving away a sixth- and seventh-rounder along with Metcalf as part of the deal.
The Steelers, however, gave Metcalf a four-year $132 million contract upon trading for him. Brown, on the other hand, still has four years remaining on his deal. He also has a dead-cap figure of over $43 million if traded prior to June 1, so his current contract could make him tougher to pry from Philly than Metcalf was from Seattle.
For their part, the Patriots are insisting that they haven’t been told by ownership that spending needs to be dialed back — whether that’s on big swings for Brown, Crosby or anyone else — because they led the league in offseason spending a year ago. But they understand that they have a variety of needs on their roster, and they want to build with both short and long-term consequences in mind.
“Robert and Jonathan [Kraft] have been nothing but supportive of whatever we’ve wanted to do to try to improve the team,” Wolf said. “I think, like myself and Coach Vrabel being sort of stewards of that and understanding what’s important, we haven’t been told no very often. If at all. We’re excited to have their support and be able to try to continue to try to build this thing.”
Despite having to pay out potential contracts for Christian Gonzalez and Drake Maye over the course of the next calendar year or so, Vrabel said he hasn’t been ordered not to spend this offseason.
“I would imagine that we will try to do everything that we can to add to our roster, knowing that we have responsibilities to contracts in the future,” he said. “But also, if we’re given the opportunity to add good players, I hope that we would be able to do that. That’s nothing that I’ve been informed of, if that’s what you’re looking at, that’s nothing that I’ve been informed of at this point.”
Given the number of “hits” the Patriots were able to rack up last offseason — signings of Milton Williams, Stefon Diggs, Mack Hollins, Morgan Moses, Garrett Bradbury, Robert Spillane, K’Lavon Chaisson, Christian Elliss and Khyiris Tonga all contributed to their run to a Super Bowl — there’s a sense around the league that ownership will give Vrabel, Wolf and the rest of the front office some leeway in the decisions they make on spending in the coming months.
Odds and ends
— Several league sources are anticipating that the Patriots and Christian Gonzalez will end up coming to an agreement on a new contract ahead of next season.
Vrabel laid out an abridged version of his team-building philosophy this week, saying, “Draft good players, develop them, and re-sign them, and then be able to add the right people at the right time through free agency.”
The team wants to retain Gonzalez, and Vrabel has said he hopes he can help his corner become a captain. The question now is how quickly they can find common ground on a new deal.
— The Patriots are considering a right tackle of the future as a need this offseason. Morgan Moses gave them a very strong season at that position, but he’ll be 35 years old soon, and the team knows that can be a difficult position to fill.
Get familiar with the names Max Iheanachor from Arizona State and Blake Miller from Clemson, both of whom could be options for the Patriots at No. 31 overall in this year’s draft. Miller, in particular, is considered an excellent fit for Vrabel’s program. He started 54 games for the Tigers, missed just one practice due to injury in four years, and he’s believed by some to have a competitive demeanor that is reminiscent of Will Campbell’s.
— Off-the-ball linebacker is considered by scouts to be a strength of this year’s draft. The Patriots likely won’t have the chance to draft someone like Sonny Styles (who lit up his combine workout Thursday) from Vrabel’s alma mater Ohio State. But Day 2 or Day 3 options will be there for them if they want to bolster the second-level of their defense.
— If the Patriots end up parting ways with Diggs, and if they’re unable to acquire someone like A.J. Brown or free-agent-to-be Alec Pierce of the Colts, then what? (Pierce, by the way, is expected by some to be tagged or re-signed by Indy.)
One evaluator suggested that Kayshon Boutte has the ability to play inside and replace the role Diggs’ potential departure would leave behind, despite being primarily an “X” receiver for the Patriots.
It was also suggested by one general manager that Mack Hollins could play more inside. His ability to block would allow the Patriots to use him on early downs in the running game and provide for them a level of unpredictability that a smaller player would not.
The league is cyclical in terms of what it values schematically, and bigger-bodied slots who can make an impact on run plays — perhaps bad news for undersized Patriots wideout DeMario Douglas — are now more en vogue.
