The New England Patriots have told Stefon Diggs that they are releasing him.
The wide receiver had a resurgent 2025 season as the Patriots made it to the Super Bowl but the team were emphatically beaten by the Seattle Seahawks.
His release comes shortly after his high-profile split with Cardi B and a court case after football’s showpiece game, where he pleaded not guilty to felony strangulation and other criminal charges stemming from an alleged dispute with his personal chef.
Diggs confirmed the news on Instagram, saying: ‘THANK YOU for a hell of a year. We family forever.’
It was a fruitful year for Diggs in New England, even though it has ended in him being released. He was returning to football after a torn ACL and was the main target for quarterback Drake Maye, leading in receiving yards and targets.
Diggs, 32, was in court in February just five days after losing the Super Bowl.
The New England Patriots have told wide receiver Stefon Diggs that they are releasing him
Diggs and Cardi B recently split up around the Super Bowl, which the Patriots lost
According to court records, his chef told officers she and Diggs argued about money he owed her for her work.
During the Dec. 2 encounter at his home, she said, he ‘smacked her across the face’ and then ‘tried to choke her using the crook of his elbow around her neck,’ leaving her feeling short of breath.
She told officers she had trouble breathing and felt she could have blacked out.
Diggs’ attorney has said he ‘categorically denies these allegations,’ calling them unsubstantiated and motivated by a financial dispute. Diggs is charged with one count of felony strangulation or suffocation and one count of misdemeanor assault and battery.
His bitter split with rapper Cardi B, who he has a kid with, has also played out in public.
While onstage during her Little Miss Drama Tour on Friday night, Cardi seemed to send a feisty message to the NFL player about ‘principle.’
‘It’s called the principle. You can’t be out here playing with a b**** like me. There’s n***** out here praying for a bitch like me. You hear me?’ Cardi could be heard shouting into her microphone in a video shared online.
‘I’m too sexy to be lonely and too grown to be played with,’ Cardi, whose real name is Belcalis Almanzar, added.
The onstage rant came a few weeks after she is believed to have broken up with the wide receiver.
The split reportedly came a ‘few days’ before Diggs’ Super Bowl defeat in San Francisco on February 8.
The Grammy Award winner, encouraged by friends, is said to have called it quits after Diggs alleged ‘betrayed her so many times.’
‘Her friends have been trying to show her that he is not right for her and that she deserved better,’ an insider told Us Weekly last month.
As for the Patriots, the team has been linked with a trade for AJ Brown at the Philadelphia Eagles.
Alec Pierce, who is heading into free agency after his Indianapolis Colts deal ended, is another alternative.
MORE TO FOLLOW