Following Stefon Diggs video, Patriots’ Mike Vrabel urges ‘making great decisions’ amid OTAs

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FOXBORO, Mass. — Mike Vrabel said the Patriots are aware of a viral video that appears to show Stefon Diggs on a boat handing a group of women a bag of an unknown pink substance.

It’s unclear when the video was taken, but Diggs was not present at the team’s voluntary practice on Wednesday at Gillette Stadium. Vrabel, who is in his first year as head coach of the team, emphasized broadly that his message for the Patriots will be focused on making good choices.

“Obviously, we want to make great decisions on and off the field,” Vrabel said. “We’re hoping that with our time here on the field today, that when we don’t have a script and we’re on the call periods, that we’re making great decisions. The message will be the same for all our players, that we’re trying to make great decisions. Any conversations that I’ve had with Stefon will remain between him, I and the club.”

Diggs signed a three-year, $63.5 million contract with the Patriots this offseason that included $25 million guaranteed.

In addition to ideally adding a No. 1 wide receiver to a roster that has long lacked one, part of the Patriots’ hope for signing Diggs was that he could bring mentorship and leadership to a receiver group that struggled with immaturity a year ago. So far, Diggs hasn’t been around much, according to wide receiver Kayshon Boutte, as Diggs recovers from an ACL tear he suffered in late October last year.

“He hasn’t been here much, but we talk to him every time he comes and those have been great talks,” Boutte said.

Diggs wasn’t present at either of the first two organized team activities (which are voluntary practices) open to the media, but he was at one closed session, according to pictures posted by the team.

“This is a voluntary part of our off-season program,” Vrabel said. “Every player that’s not here, which there aren’t many, have been in communication with me and their position coaches.”

Diggs, 31, is one of the most important players to the Patriots this season. They ranked last in the NFL a year ago in production from their wide receivers, and Diggs was easily their biggest offseason addition at the position. They also drafted Kyle Williams in the third round and signed Mack Hollins.

But for a team with hopes pinned to the progress and success of second-year quarterback Drake Maye, New England needs Diggs to return to his level of play pre-ACL tear.

There’s still a long way to go before the season begins, and practices aren’t even mandatory yet. Diggs, given his ACL recovery, probably isn’t ready yet to even be a full participant at practices. Still, just two months into his time with the Patriots, Diggs is making headlines for something that occurred off the field.

Boutte’s battle for a spot

Diggs’ absence, along with an apparent injury for Hollins, has opened the door for additional work for a group of wide receivers that’ll be fighting for one of the final roster spots.

Diggs, Hollins, Williams and DeMario Douglas seem locked into roster spots. But that leaves probably two openings for a group of Boutte, Kendrick Bourne, Ja’Lynn Polk, Javon Baker and Efton Chism.

That’s a tough spot for Boutte, who was the team’s best wide receiver for long stretches a year ago. But with a new regime in charge, Boutte’s name was floated as a trade possibility before the draft, a sign his spot isn’t guaranteed.

“I heard about it, but I tried to not put too much time into that,” Boutte said of the trade rumors. “It’s a lot of people sitting behind phones just typing. It’s got nothing really to do with me.”

Boutte finished last season with the second-most yards amongst Patriots receivers, and his 589 were just 32 yards behind Douglas for the team lead despite Boutte playing in two fewer games than Douglas. His three receiving touchdowns were also tied for the most on the team.

Still, Boutte’s spot seems far from assured, setting up a very important training camp for him later this summer.

More offensive struggles

Like the last OTA open to the media, Wednesday was another subpar performance from the Patriots’ offense. This early in the offseason, during voluntary practices, that could certainly be spun as praise for the defense. But the issue on this day was Maye’s inaccuracy.

Wednesday wasn’t as bad as last week’s session for the quarterback when he threw four interceptions. He didn’t throw any picks Wednesday, but he only completed around half his passes with several spiraling well above his intended target.

Maybe it’s a sign of positive things for the Patriots’ defense. Or maybe these hiccups from Maye have simply been two early practices while learning a new offensive scheme under Josh McDaniels. But it hasn’t been a pair of open OTAs that inspire a ton of confidence for where the offense is at with minicamp looming.

“Everybody’s going to have a bad day,” Vrabel said before Wednesday’s practice when asked about Maye’s four-interception day. “There’s a lot of reasons that go into it. We’re not going to analyze every single practice and have explanations for things that came up. … The operation, the communication today and the execution has got to be better. We only have so many of these opportunities.”

(Photo: Elsa / Getty Images)

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