FOXBOROUGH – Stefon Diggs doesn’t look like a player who suffered a torn ACL last season on Oct. 27.
The Patriots receiver has been limited in the three open practices seen by the media. He said he wanted to do more, but the team wouldn’t allow him to participate in full-team drills.
Despite the knee surgery and rehab, Diggs has showcased a surprising burst of speed during individual drills. That was seen on Tuesday when he took a pass and sprinted down the field.
After practice, Diggs said he was on schedule with his rehabilitation.
“It’s pretty good. It’s always been a process. I was seven months on Saturday,” Diggs said. “So it’s a nice seven-month reunion, and I feel great. Been out here grinding with the boys. Been definitely a process but it’s on the back end now. I wanted to mix it up a little bit but I don’t make the rules.”
Diggs spent most of his offseason rehabbing in Florida at Alkeme Sports RX with Dr. Sharif Tabbah. When he visited the Patriots during free agency, the team examined his knee and felt so good about Diggs’ health that they signed him to a 3-year, $69 million contract.
Diggs has said that his goal is to play in Week 1.
“We’ll see how it goes. Obviously, I don’t make the rules,” Diggs said when asked about his timeline. I’m grinding each and every day, though. I can’t do too much of the team stuff, but I’m eager to get out there, so whenever they do press the button, I’m going to be ready. I’m grinding, though, every day.”
The Patriots brought Diggs in hoping that he could give him a dynamic weapon on offense. The team has lacked a true No. 1 receiver since the days of Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski.
Edelman is the last Patriots pass catcher to have a 1,000-yard season (in 2019). Gronkowski is the last Patriots pass catcher to earn Pro Bowl honors (in 2017).
Despite being limited this offseason, Diggs said his confidence has never wavered.
“I’m confident. I kind of, like, took my rehab pretty serious. In the beginning phases, I wasn’t as confident, but I was trying it out. Good thing I was away from everybody,” Diggs said. “But when I came back here, I was in the mindset of I’m trying to get after it and get going. It’s kind of like a dog on a leash, you want to bring him back a little bit, especially me because I want to go. But it’s the timing of everything. I’m looking forward to training camp.”
After the conclusion of Tuesday’s minicamp, players now break away from Gillette Stadium for the next five weeks.
Diggs said his goal is to stay in shape and learn the Patriots playbook before returning to Foxborough for the start of training camp on July 23.
“It’s more the mental portion. My body is pretty much in a good space. I’m going to continue to grind, obviously,” Diggs said. “But you want to be fresh going into training camp. I want to be in shape. I want to know the book. I’m going to spend a lot of time on the educational part as far as hearing it, seeing it, running the routes consistently, and that kind of thing. I’m going to do a lot of traveling, too, so I’m going to bring my iPad with me.”
