Why Patriots played Stefon Diggs on so few snaps in Week 1 loss

The New England Patriots didn't have the season opener they wanted.

The Pats' offense and Drake Maye struggled in a home loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. And for new Patriots WR Stefon Diggs, it was a mixed bag.

Diggs finished with six catches for 57 yards. Maye targeted him seven times.

“I saw some energy from him,” Vrabel said Monday on WEEI. “I saw some passion, and, you know, everybody just wants to win, and I don’t think that he’s too caught up on production. I think that we want to win and make the plays that we’re supposed to make and when the ball comes to you and finds you, you know, we have to be able to do something with it. That’s how this thing goes.”

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He wasn't on the field a ton, though, just 31 snaps, which was 44% of the possible offensive snaps.

It's a situation still developing in New England.

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Why didn't Stefon Diggs get more playing time?

Stefon Diggs is being treated with caution and care by his new team, the Patriots.

Diggs tore his ACL in the eighth game of his 2024 season for the Houston Texans.

That's an injury that has taken some players a full year to return to action. Diggs has done it in about 10 months.

Clearly, the Patriots feel fine about his health, or they wouldn't put him out there at all.

It's not a bad idea to be cautious, since the Pats want Diggs healthy the whole year, not just the first few weeks.

But to win some games, they also might need Diggs out there more than half the time, at least.

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