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FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – JANUARY 18: Stefon Diggs #8 of the New England Patriots reacts after scoring a touchdown against the Houston Texans during the second quarter in the AFC Divisional Playoff game at Gillette Stadium on January 18, 2026 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Elsa\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The Seattle Seahawks<\/a> do not need Stefon Diggs<\/a> to become the center of their offense. They need him to ensure Jaxon Smith-Njigba<\/a> does not have to remain its entire foundation.<\/p>\n That distinction makes Diggs one of the most logical late-summer additions available to the defending champions.<\/p>\n NFL.com analyst Matt Okada identified wide receiver as Seattle\u2019s biggest remaining roster issue on July 17.<\/a> His concern was not Smith-Njigba, who has established himself as the Seahawks\u2019 premier pass catcher. It was the amount of responsibility placed on one player while the production behind him became increasingly uncertain.<\/p>\n Smith-Njigba accounted for 36.6% of Seattle\u2019s receptions last season, according to the NFL<\/a>.com analysis. Okada noted that it was the highest share by an NFL player in the past decade.<\/p>\n That kind of concentration can power an offense when everything goes right. It can also leave a championship contender dangerously dependent on one receiver staying healthy and consistently defeating the coverage designed to stop him.<\/p>\n Diggs would provide a direct solution.<\/p>\n Stefon Diggs Would Give Seahawks a Proven Second Option<\/p>\n Diggs is 32 and no longer needs to be treated like the player who led the NFL with 1,535 receiving yards in 2020. He does not have to be that player for Seattle.<\/p>\n He caught 85 passes for 1,013 yards and four touchdowns over 17 games with the New England Patriots<\/a> in 2025. Those numbers would represent meaningful production in almost any receiver room, never mind one in which the clear No. 1 option carried more than one-third of the passing game.<\/p>\n Diggs also offers alignment flexibility and the route-running experience to contribute without requiring Seattle to overhaul its offense. ESPN ranked him among the best remaining free agents<\/a>, highlighting his ability to separate and work both inside and outside.<\/p>\n The Seahawks could move Smith-Njigba around while using Diggs against favorable coverage. Cooper Kupp<\/a> could continue contributing as a possession receiver and veteran leader. Rashid Shaheed<\/a> could retain the field-stretching and return responsibilities Seattle valued enough to give him a multiyear contract in March.<\/p>\n Adding Diggs would not require declaring any of those players a failure. It would prevent Seattle from needing every one of them to exceed reasonable expectations.<\/p>\n Seattle Can Protect Itself Against an Avoidable Risk<\/p>\n The Seahawks have publicly presented their receiver group as a strength. Their official draft preview noted that their five leading contributors<\/a> from last season were returning, while praising Kupp\u2019s postseason production and anticipating a larger role for Shaheed.<\/p>\n There is merit to that confidence. Kupp brings championship experience, and Shaheed possesses game-changing speed. Younger receivers could also earn larger roles during training camp.<\/p>\n The risk is assuming that projection and production are interchangeable.<\/p>\n NFL.com\u2019s concern centered on Kupp averaging 28.3 receiving yards over the second half of 2025 and Shaheed surpassing 30 receiving yards only three times in 12 appearances for Seattle, including the playoffs. Neither player scored a receiving touchdown for the Seahawks during the cited stretch.<\/p>\n Diggs, meanwhile, has already demonstrated that he can produce over a full season after returning from the torn ACL that ended his 2024 campaign.<\/p>\n New England released him in March after his scheduled base salary and cap charge were set to rise sharply in 2026. The Patriots officially listed the move on their transaction wire.<\/p>\n That history should make a lucrative multiyear commitment unnecessary. A one-year contract, potentially containing incentives tied to playing time and production, would limit Seattle\u2019s exposure while giving Diggs an opportunity to play for another contender.<\/p>\n Over the Cap listed the Seahawks with approximately $25.5 million<\/a> in available 2026 cap space as of July 18, although that figure will continue to fluctuate with roster moves. Seattle therefore appears capable of pursuing Diggs without sacrificing all of its in-season flexibility.<\/p>\n Diggs Could Make a Championship Offense Harder to Defend<\/p>\n The Seahawks can enter training camp believing in their current receivers. They should not confuse optimism with having nothing left to improve.<\/p>\n Smith-Njigba has proven he can carry an enormous receiving workload. Signing Diggs would be about making sure he does not have to do it again.<\/p>\n For a rebuilding team, giving snaps to younger receivers and accepting the accompanying uncertainty would make sense. For a defending champion, the calculation should be different. Seattle\u2019s priority should be eliminating weaknesses before they become postseason problems.<\/p>\n Diggs remains capable of doing that. The Seahawks have the need, a defined role and the financial flexibility to make a compelling offer.<\/p>\n One year. One more proven receiver. One fewer threat to Seattle\u2019s championship defense.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tErik Anderson<\/a> is an award-winning sports journalist covering the NBA, NFL, MLB and trading card market for Heavy.com. His coverage focuses on breaking news, trade rumors, roster moves, player contracts and the stories driving national fan conversation. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Associated Press, USA Today and ESPN. More about Erik Anderson<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – JANUARY 18: Stefon Diggs #8 of the New England Patriots reacts after scoring a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":809261,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[559],"tags":[64,63,593,85],"class_list":["post-809260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/809260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=809260"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/809260\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/809261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=809260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=809260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=809260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}