NFL Rumors: Trade Talk Surrounding Stefon Diggs Heats Up As His Frustration With Vikings Grows
The trade rumors surrounding Stefon Diggs are heating up, even amid denials from the Minnesota Vikings that their star wide receiver is going up on the block.
Diggs is reportedly very unhappy with the team amid its offensive struggles, a situation that seems to be causing a major rift between Diggs and the Vikings. As Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported, Diggs did not show up to the team on Monday and was not at practice on Wednesday. Rapoport noted that the Vikings had just pushed off trade speculation a few days before, saying that Diggs would not be going anywhere, but the receiver himself then confirmed that he was not happy with the team and that there was truth to the trade rumors.
Rapoport said that the tensions started when the Vikings shifted away from an offense relying heavily on the pass to a more run-heavy focus, which left both Diggs and fellow high-priced wide receiver Adam Thielen as what Rapoport called “spectators.” Both Diggs and Thielen have appeared frustrated at the poor play from the offense as a whole.
Diggs himself pushed back against reports that he is frustrated, but said that the current situation is complicated.
“The space that we’re in right now, definitely, it’s a lot of questions. I can’t stand up here and act like everything is OK, because it’s obviously not. What I can say is, at this point, I’m just trying to work through it,” he said.
There had been speculation days beforehand that Diggs could be headed to the New England Patriots, as some reported that he had just started following some of New England’s players on Instagram. The Patriots have already shown this season that they are aggressive in trying to return to the Super Bowl, taking a chance on talented but troubled wide receiver Antonio Brown, who ended up lasting less than two weeks before being released amid a storm of controversy.
From @gmfb: The #Vikings have a situation on their hands, as WR Stefon Diggs is upset about many, many things. pic.twitter.com/eCkBUUNp33
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 4, 2019
But a trade to the New England Patriots seems unlikely for Stefon Diggs. As Boston Sports Journal reporter Miguel Benzan noted, the Patriots would have to do some major restructuring in order to find the space for Diggs. This would likely include restructuring Dont’a Hightower’s deal and pushing more cap troubles out to 2020, which seems an unlikely scenario for the Patriots.
Stefon Diggs also said this week that he has not spoken to anyone on the Minnesota Vikings about a trade, and has also not told his agent he wants off the Vikings, suggesting there is the potential for a resolution that keeps him in Minnesota.
