Stefon Diggs Injury Update: When Will WR Return to Patriots?

The New England Patriots’ offense has been stagnant so far in the 2020s, but the Pats are now poised for a breakout campaign. If the Patriots are to return to an era of offensive success, Stefon Diggs will likely be a giant part of it.

Will Diggs be ready to play in Week 1 against the Las Vegas Raiders? Below, we will deliver the latest information on when Diggs will be back on the field. This Diggs injury update will also include fantasy football info and a potential return date.

🚑 When will Stefon Diggs return and be back with Patriots?

Diggs has spent the Patriots’ preseason games wearing a bucket hat on the sidelines. However, the veteran WR will play this season after tearing his ACL in Week 8 of last season when he was a member of the Houston Texans.

The question now is whether or not Diggs will be ready to play Week 1 of the season. 

"Stefon has done everything we’ve asked,” Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf told 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston. "He’s been attentive in meetings. He’s been good on the field. He had two really good practices in Minnesota [earlier this month]. He’s ahead of schedule injury-wise.”

Diggs has practiced throughout training camp for the Patriots, so it is likely that the Pats are simply holding him out of the pre-season games as a pre-cautionary measure. 

The Patriots could opt to put Diggs on the reserve/PUP list to start the season, which would mean he would miss New England’s first four games of the season. All current signs point to him being available to play for the Patriots in Week 1, however.  

Here is a look at the Patriots’ first four games of the regular season.

• Week 1 (Sunday, Sept. 7) - Las Vegas Raiders at New England Patriots
• Week 2 (Sunday, Sept. 14) - New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins
• Week 3 (Sunday, Sept. 21) - Pittsburgh Steelers at New England Patriots
• Week 4 (Sunday, Sept. 28) - Carolina Panthers at New England Patriots

⏳ How long will Stefon Diggs be out for?

There is a broad range of recovery times from an ACL tear. The general rule of thumb is 6-12 months. 

Former NFL running back Adrian Peterson is the model for a football player returning from an ACL injury. He tore his ACL on Christmas Eve 2011 and was ready to go Week 1 of the season in 2012. He went on to rush for a staggering 2,097 yards that season.

The worst-case scenario for Diggs would be if he wound up following the path of fellow WR Mike Williams. Williams tore his ACL in Week 3 of the 2023 season and was never the same player. He put up relatively small numbers with the Jets and Steelers in 2024 before retiring this past July. 

Diggs' situation will have to be monitored closely, for sure, considering he is long in the tooth as far as NFL wide receivers are concerned. The 2015 fifth round pick is now 31-years-old.

🏈 Stefon Diggs fantasy football draft position

Diggs is typically going in Round 6 or Round 7 of 12-team PPR fantasy football drafts. The new Pats WR is owned in 87 percent of Yahoo fantasy leagues.

Diggs looked to be well on his way to another 1,000-yard season last year with the Texans. He caught 47 balls for 496 yards and 3 TDs before going down with the ACL injury in late October. 

Diggs went over 1,000 yards receiving in each season from 2018 to 2023. His career watermark in touchdowns came in 2022 with Buffalo as he had 11 TD grabs.

💰 Patriots betting odds

The Patriots are a very trendy pick to improve this season. New England has a new head coach in Mike Vrabel, Drake Maye is in his second season, and the team’s defense looks like it could be an elite unit.

The latest Super Bowl odds show the Patriots with a +7500 price to win it all. The best NFL betting sites have the Pats with an 8.5 win total projection.

The most recent NFL playoff odds show the Patriots with a +164 price to make the postseason, while New England is -205 to miss the AFC dance.