Since Julian Edelman retired after the 2020 season, the Patriots have struggled to find their next top receiver option, and the offense has not fared well because of it. Despite their attempts in recent years to pull off a blockbuster trade or coax a superstar to sign with the team, nothing worked, which immediately gave Mike Vrabel his first task to accomplish as the new head coach.
Although it took a bit longer than expected, they finally signed Stefon Diggs in free agency, which wasn't initially well-received, given his age and the fact that he was coming off an ACL injury.