Stefon Diggs ‘Still Going’ In Comeback Campaign With Patriots

Stefon Diggs now finds himself a full year removed from surgery to repair a torn right ACL.

The veteran wide receiver has stayed ahead of that November anniversary. He’s become awfully close to the same player he was before it.

For the 9-2 New England Patriots, he’s become integral.

“I can’t thank God enough for as far as where I’m at right now. More so, where I’m at with my team,” Diggs told reporters at Gillette Stadium on Wednesday. “I’m thankful to be where I’m at right now around a good group of guys. We spend a lot of time together. I say it’s like your little mini family, because sometimes you spend more time with them than you do with your own family. So, I’m thankful to be where I’m at. I can’t thank God enough. As far as like my injury, it’s been a long time coming. But more importantly, I’m just still going.”

When Diggs went down with the non-contact knee injury last fall, a streak of six consecutive 1,000-yard campaigns went down with it. The former Minnesota Vikings, Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans wideout moved on to Foxborough as an unrestricted free agent in March.

He did so on a three-year, $63.6 million contract carrying $16.6 million fully guaranteed.

By the time training camp opened in July, Diggs was cleared to practice without a stint on the physically unable to perform list. By the time the regular season opened in September, he was in the starting lineup for a receiver depth chart featuring Mack Hollins, Kayshon Boutte, DeMario Douglas, Kyle Williams and Efton Chism III.

The timetable had been beaten.

“I wasn’t necessarily surprised, but I was more so like taken back a couple times with my injury as far as the progression was happening pretty well for me,” the four-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro reflected. “I knew that I attacked it with the mindset of that and I was never scared. Like I always said, ‘The worst happened to me already, so let me just get after it as much as I can and prepare the right way.’ It’s been an ongoing process throughout the season as far as training and getting my body where it needed to be. So, I wasn’t necessarily surprised. I was prepared, I worked for it and here we are.”

It’s been wheels up ever since under the watch of head coach Mike Vrabel, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and wide receivers coach Todd Downing.

Set to turn 32 years old next week, Diggs has stayed on the field for all 11 starts and 56.8% of the offensive snaps. He leads New England’s passing game with 72 targets, 59 receptions and 659 receiving yards.

With the frontrunner for NFL MVP under center, that puts the Comeback Player of the Year candidate on pace to finish with 111 targets, 91 receptions and 1,018 receiving yards.

“Proud of the way he’s handled what he’s been through,” Patriots quarterback Drake Maye said during his Wednesday press conference. “ACL surgery and bouncing back and coming in making plays, being ready to go Week 1. That says a lot about him as a football player, as a person, how much he’s worked. I think he’s got to be in the running for Comeback Player of the Year, I mean, as much as he’s done for this football team leadership-wise and play-wise.”

Diggs has surpassed the century mark in yardage on three occasions during his short stay. The No. 146 overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft has also scored three touchdowns over the past month of football. Those visits to the end zone arrived on second down versus the Atlanta Falcons, third down versus the Cleveland Browns and fourth down versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

An onside kick was recovered along the way for a team in contention for the AFC’s top seed. The win streak currently stands at eight games.

“Just do my part to get him the football,” added Maye. “He’s a great player and I think he deserves a lot of credit for himself and the people who helped him to get back on time. He’s been a huge difference.”

Up next is a 1 p.m. ET Sunday kickoff against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium.