Report: Patriots pursued Stefon Diggs trade before Bills deal

The Buffalo Bills made a Stefon Diggs trade come together quickly, but their division rival was also in the mix to make a blockbuster deal.

According to Albert Breer of The MMQB, the New England Patriots were interested in Diggs and pursued a trade when it became clear that the Minnesota Vikings might be willing to deal. However, their interest faded quickly after using the franchise tag on offensive lineman Joe Thuney, costing the team precious cap space.

The last straw was when the Patriots became aware that Tom Brady was likely to leave, making the acquisition of a star wide receiver less important.

If nothing else, it shows that the Patriots were still trying to get more weapons for Brady late on in the process. The reality, however, was that Brady clearly wanted out regardless of what the Patriots were doing transaction-wise. Diggs might have been a nice weapon for the Patriots’ next quarterback, but giving up that much for him never made sense once Brady was out the door.