Patriots executive Eliot Wolf asked about Stefon Diggs' future, free agency and more at NFL Combine

Coming off their Super Bowl loss, the New England Patriots didn't have much down time before they moved onto the 2026 season. The team's front office arrived at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis this week, and executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf spoke about the team's outlook with free agency two weeks away.

The NFL Combine is being held through March 2. Free agency unofficially gets underway at noon on March 9 when teams are allowed to "legally tamper" with players.

Will Stefon Diggs be back with Patriots?

Wolf was asked about the future of veteran wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who is under contract for the upcoming season. Still, his status with the team has been viewed as up in the air. Diggs' return to the Patriots would come with a hefty cap hit, leaving insiders to wonder if the team would attempt to restructure his deal or potentially move on.

The Patriots executive's answer to the question didn't provide much clarity.

"I'm not going to get into any specific players today. There are certain conversations that we're having, and we'll see what happens with everyone," Wolf said when asked if he expected Diggs to return in 2026.

Beyond his contract status, Diggs also has a legal situation that remains unresolved.

In a separate media availability with local reporters, Wolf was asked if the team is interested in acquiring a No. 1 receiver.

"Yes we are looking at the wide receiver position to try to improve depth and at the top as well. But also when you run your offense and you have one of these No. 1 receivers, the quarterback can get in trouble by trying to force the ball to that person," Wolf said, via CLNS Media. "To answer your question, basically the more playmakers we have the better we are going to be."

Jared Wilson position decision

Wolf also told local reporters that the team has not decided yet which position Jared Wilson will play on the offensive line. Wilson played center in college but started at left guard as a rookie for the Patriots, struggling at times. Wolf said Wilson "certainly has the physical ability to play there and he's also got the intelligence and vocal ability to play center."

At his press conference in Indianapolis, Wolf was asked how risky it was to start two rookie offensive linemen in Will Campbell and Wilson.

"I don't know if I'd look at it as risky. I think you have to do what's best for the football team, and with our best five out there, I think we won a lot of games," Wolf said. "Obviously, the last game was not very productive in a lot of areas on offense. We're just excited that that Will and Jared are made of the right stuff, and we're excited about what they're going to do moving forward."

Wolf spoke about the defensive end position, which is said to be a deep one in this year's draft.

"I think this draft offers a lot of different depth at varying areas, edge being one of them. I think it's a fairly deep class at that position that's obviously an area of need for our team, so it matches up nicely," he said.

NFL free agency

Overall, Wolf was asked how the team will approach free agency this year after spending big last offseason.

"We're going to explore every avenue to try to improve the team. We filled a lot of needs last year and we're still building. We have areas that maybe we feel good about the starters, but maybe the depth is not where we want it to be. We have areas where we maybe need to add a starter," Wolf said. "So, I think it's going to be sort of a holistic approach, and working together with Coach Vrabel, his staff, the scouting staff, Richard Miller and Matt Groh on the on the contract side, and we're going to try to build this thing to improve the team as best we can."