Patriots fans were convinced they’d get AJ Brown, now have to settle for overpaid Stefon Diggs

Reality comes at you fast, especially if you’re a New England Patriots fan. First the mystique of the Brady dynasty completely evaporates from the organization, then fans convince themselves they’ll get a top-5 wideout, only to settle for an aging, overpaid receiver who can’t stay healthy.

For months now, Twitter has told me that Eagles WR AJ Brown was going to get traded this offseason. More specifically, they tried to gaslight me into thinking he’d get traded to New England — solely because Mike Vrabel is now the Patriots head coach.

That was it. That was the only reasoning behind it.

Now that free agency is coming to a close, the Patriots panicked. Realizing they actually had no shot to land Brown, the Patriots brass went out and signed Stefon Diggs to a three-year, $69M deal.

Patriots break the bank to sign 31-year-old WR coming off ACL surgery

Sources: The #Patriots are signing #Texans FA WR Stefon Diggs, one of the top free agents available. He gets a 3-year, up to $69M deal.

After a successful visit to NE, including a physical thanks to an ACL tear that ended his 2024, he lands to be a key target for Drake Maye. pic.twitter.com/3kX9QyQt1h

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 25, 2025

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Every fanbase thinks their franchise is savvy enough to do what the Eagles do until the offseason actually starts.

In a vacuum, this isn’t a bad move for the Patriots. The got Drake Maye a No. 1 wideout and have the luxury to overpay players due to Maye’s rookie deal. But when you take a step back and look at what New England fans thought this offseason would be like — this has to be underwhelming.

They went from convincing themselves they’d get a top-5 WR in Brown — who’s in the prime of his career — to signing 31-year-old Stefon Diggs coming off ACL surgery. This has to suck for them, there’s no beating around the bush.

As an Eagles fan, I obviously don’t care all that much. The Birds were never going to trade Brown and it was clear as day for anyone paying attention. I’m just glad I was proven right (again).