Commanders Bring Stefon Diggs Home on One-Year Deal Worth Up to $12 Million
By Brian Hradsky | Maryland Sports Blog
The Washington Commanders have reportedly agreed to a one-year contract with veteran wide receiver Stefon Diggs, bringing one of Maryland’s most accomplished football players back to the DMV.
The deal is worth up to $12 million with incentives, according to multiple reports. Washington had not formally announced the transaction as of Wednesday afternoon, but the agreement was confirmed by several national reporters and a person familiar with the negotiations.
Diggs gives quarterback Jayden Daniels another established target opposite Terry McLaurin. The 32-year-old receiver has remained highly productive late in his career and enters Washington with 942 receptions for 11,504 yards and 74 receiving touchdowns across 161 regular-season games.
The signing represents much more than a traditional veteran addition. It is a homecoming for a player born in Gaithersburg who became a local high school star before choosing to remain close to home and play for the Maryland Terrapins.
Diggs Remained Productive With New England
Diggs spent the 2025 season with the New England Patriots after previously playing for the Minnesota Vikings, Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans.
He started all 17 regular-season games for New England, catching 85 of his 102 targets for 1,013 yards and four touchdowns. He averaged 11.9 yards per reception and produced 51 receiving first downs. Diggs added 14 receptions for 110 yards and one touchdown during New England’s playoff run to Super Bowl LX.
His performance was especially encouraging because he entered the season after suffering a torn ACL with Houston in October 2024. Diggs returned to play an entire 17-game schedule and recorded the seventh 1,000-yard receiving season of his NFL career.
New England released Diggs in March after one season of the three-year contract he had signed with the organization. That decision returned him to the open market and eventually created an opportunity for Washington to address its need for another proven receiver.
Stefon Diggs’ NFL Career Statistics
Diggs has built one of the strongest receiving résumés of any active NFL player.
Through the 2025 regular season, his career totals include:
Games: 161
Receptions: 942
Targets: 1,343
Receiving yards: 11,504
Average per reception: 12.2 yards
Receiving touchdowns: 74
Rushing yards: 170
Rushing touchdowns: One
Diggs has earned four Pro Bowl selections and was named a first-team All-Pro after leading the NFL in both receptions and receiving yards during the 2020 season. He also earned second-team All-Pro honors in 2022.
He has surpassed 1,000 receiving yards seven times, including six consecutive full seasons from 2018 through 2023. The only interruption before his 2025 resurgence came when the ACL injury limited him to eight games with Houston in 2024.
Diggs began his professional career as a fifth-round selection by Minnesota in the 2015 NFL Draft. He became a regular starter during his rookie season and developed into one of the league’s most precise route runners.
His most memorable play with the Vikings came during the 2017 postseason when his last-second touchdown against the New Orleans Saints became known as the “Minneapolis Miracle.”
Minnesota traded Diggs to Buffalo before the 2020 season. He immediately became quarterback Josh Allen’s top receiver, leading the league with 127 receptions and 1,535 receiving yards during his first season with the Bills.
Diggs recorded at least 103 catches and 1,183 receiving yards in each of his first four seasons in Buffalo before being traded to Houston in 2024.
A True Maryland Homecoming
Few Commanders acquisitions have carried a stronger local connection.
Diggs was born in Gaithersburg and attended Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Montgomery County. He developed into a consensus five-star recruit and one of the highest-ranked prospects in the country.
Despite scholarship offers from several national programs, Diggs committed to Maryland and played for the Terrapins from 2012 through 2014.
He immediately became one of the most dynamic players in college football. As a freshman, Diggs led Maryland with 54 receptions, 848 receiving yards and six touchdown catches. He also accumulated 1,896 all-purpose yards, then the second-highest single-season total in program history.
Diggs finished his three-year Maryland career with 150 receptions for 2,227 yards and 14 receiving touchdowns. He also contributed as a runner and return specialist, finishing with more than 4,000 all-purpose yards.
His college career included several injuries, which contributed to him falling into the fifth round of the 2015 draft. Minnesota selected him with the 146th overall pick, and Diggs quickly outperformed his draft position.
Now, more than a decade after leaving College Park, Diggs will return to the area as a member of the Commanders.
What Diggs Brings to Washington
Washington did not necessarily need Diggs to operate as the unquestioned No. 1 receiver he was during his prime years in Buffalo.
McLaurin remains the centerpiece of the Commanders’ passing game. Diggs can instead provide Daniels with another receiver capable of winning against man coverage, finding openings against zone defenses and creating separation on intermediate routes.
The veteran’s ability to play outside or move into the slot should allow Washington to create more favorable matchups. Diggs has also consistently demonstrated strong hands, body control and an understanding of how to adjust his routes based on coverage.
That experience could become especially valuable during third downs, two-minute situations and late-season games.
Defenses will now face a difficult decision when allocating coverage between McLaurin and Diggs. Devoting extra attention to one receiver could create isolated matchups for the other, while lighter coverage inside could open opportunities for Washington’s tight ends and running backs.
The one-year structure also limits Washington’s long-term financial risk. Diggs can earn as much as $12 million if he reaches the incentives included in the contract, but the Commanders are not making a multiyear commitment to a receiver entering his age-32 season.
MSB Take
This is a calculated move with considerable upside for Washington.
Diggs may no longer be at the absolute peak of the All-Pro player who dominated during his first season in Buffalo, but his 2025 production showed that he remains capable of getting open and producing more than 1,000 receiving yards.
He also enters an ideal situation. Diggs will not have to carry the passing offense by himself, and McLaurin’s presence should prevent defenses from consistently tilting coverage in his direction.
Most importantly, Washington is giving Daniels another proven target without surrendering draft capital or accepting a long-term financial obligation.
The Maryland connection makes the signing particularly meaningful. Diggs grew up in Montgomery County, starred at Good Counsel and chose to represent his home state at Maryland when he could have attended nearly any program in the country.
After NFL stops in Minnesota, Buffalo, Houston and New England, one of the most successful football players produced by Maryland is finally coming home.
