The NFL is always better when there are bitter rivalries within each division that go every week – especially in the AFC East. Personal feuds and off-field comments bring out the best of the competitive spirit of the game.
For the New York Jets and the East, that is exactly what could be coming in 2025. And they didn’t have to do anything to set the powder keg up.
With the New England Patriots signing All-Pro wide receiver Stefon Diggs to a three-year deal worth $69 million, the former Buffalo Bill is back in the division, and it is going to piss everyone off.
AFC East Takes Turn For Bitter
For four seasons with the Bills, Diggs was one of the best receivers in all of football. He recorded 445 catches for 5,372 yards and 37 touchdowns during that span.
Jets fans know Diggs all too well. The former All-Pro has recorded 6.8 catches and 74.3 yards per game and three total touchdowns against the Jets, with All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner usually lined up against him.
The best part of Diggs being back in the AFC East, though, is what it will do to both the Bills and Patriots.
At his best, Diggs could bring stability to New England’s offense with second-year quarterback Drake Maye leading the charge. That could lead to more losses for the Bills, which would muddy the waters in the division for the Jets.
At his worst, Diggs has created rifts with almost every team he has been on, including Buffalo. If he remains unhappy on a Patriots team that isn’t guaranteed to win anything in the first year under Mike Vrabel as the head coach, it could cause some major issues out in Foxboro.
This means New England could be in a perpetual state of rebuilding, much like the Jets have been in.
With Vrabel being a former player of the Patriots turned head coach, and Aaron Glenn being a former player turned coach of the Jets, that rivalry was always going to be strong.
Now, the AFC East will take a new wrinkle with more hostile games moving forward.
And that’s great for the league.
