The New England Patriots are making roster moves, and veteran wide receiver Stefon Diggs may have been the first domino to fall in what could turn out to be a sequence of transactions.
The 2025 AFC champions entered Wednesday with just under $41.3 million in 2026 cap space. The franchise increased that number later that day to $57.08 million, as projected by cap expert Miguel Benzan, by planning to release Diggs after the start of the 2026 NFL league year next Wednesday.
According to MassLive, sources
at the NFL Combine last week revealed that New England is targeting veteran edge rushers in free agency. Additionally, given circulating reports from across the league, the Patriots may also look to adjust their books to make a significant transaction at wide receiver. Colts standout receiver Alec Pierce and Eagles Super Bowl champion A.J. Brown immediately come to mind.
Releasing Diggs also shows that the Patriots aren’t being complacent and may be willing to move on from significant contributors in 2025 if head coach Mike Vrabel and company believe those moves can lead to improvement.
Below are three potential cap casualties the team may move on from as the legal tampering period quickly approaches at noon on Monday, March 9.
WR DeMario Douglas
Douglas, a sixth-round draft selection in 2023, saw a significant decrease in his snap-count totals last season. After beginning the year seeing 63% of the offensive snaps during Week One, New England’s leading receiver in 2023 saw just an estimated 24.8% of the offensive snaps in the remaining games he participated in, including the playoffs.
Releasing Douglas before June 1 would create roughly $3.7 million in 2026 cap space, according to Over the Cap.
The Liberty University standout concluded his 2025 campaign with 447 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 31 receptions. Nonetheless, Douglas made significant impact plays that didn’t appear in the box score. Head coach Mike Vrabel cited two key blocks the five-foot-eight receiver delivered that created an open lane to the end zone for Hunter Henry following a sweeping 42-13 victory over the Carolina Panthers in Week Four.
However, Douglas quickly phased out as a top target in the Patriots’ offense, and quarterback Drake Maye consistently struggled to connect with the smaller-framed receiver over the middle of the field. New England may retain him through the summer to compete in training camp, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if the team looks his way if it needs more money to spend.
S Marte Mapu
Mapu served as the Patriots’ personal protector on the special teams punt unit, calling the shots on whether or not to go for the first down or to call on Bryce Baringer to put the opposing team in poor field position. The safety played on up to four of the special teams units during the regular season.
Longtime head coach Bill Belichick picked Mapu in the third round of the 2023 draft, three rounds before Douglas. Belichick selected the Sacramento State product as a hybrid player at safety and linebacker. Mapu bounced between both positions while dealing with various injuries, and although he showed flashes — most notably intercepting Patrick Mahomes as a rookie — he never found his footing on the roster.
Mapu rarely saw the field on defense in 2025; his 20 snaps against the Tennessee Titans in Week 7 marked his season-high defensive snap total in a single game. Over the Cap has Mapu clearing an estimated $1.5 million on New England’s books if he were to be released prior to June.
OL Caedan Wallace
Wallace was drafted in the third round in 2024 during Jerod Mayo’s lone season as head coach. Executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf immediately stated at a draft party hosted at Gillette Stadium that Wallace would play left tackle, despite previously starting at right tackle for Penn State.
The eventual guard began his rookie campaign in 2024 at that spot and as a sixth O-lineman, but an ankle injury sidelined him for 11 games. When Wallace returned from injured reserve for the final two games of that season, he lined up at right tackle. The Penn State product later competed for the starting left guard job during training camp this past season, but that never materialized, and he spent his second year largely as a healthy inactive.
A decision to release Wallace would clear roughly $1.04 million in cap space this season, according to Over the Cap.
