The Patriots' wide receiver room was under the microscope this past weekend during their Week 1 preseason game against the Commanders. Outside of a handful of roster locks, the rest of the bunch is battling day in and day out for a spot on the team's final 53-man squad.

Given the intense competition, everyone who was healthy played at least one series on Friday night—except for offseason acquisition Stefon Diggs.

While the 31-year-old is coming off ACL reconstruction surgery, he's been fully cleared for contact and has been a training camp mainstay. So it was odd not to see him in uniform.

During an appearance on WEEI Sports Radio's The Greg Hill Show on Monday morning, New England's head coach Mike Vrabel was asked if Diggs' absence was precautionary. Instead of suggesting it was due to his health, he gave a rather cryptic two-word answer:

"Coach's decision," he said after a brief pause.

It's worth noting that Diggs' lack of action on Friday night came two days after he was late to his team's joint practice against Washington for an undisclosed reason. He trotted out to the field roughly 45 minutes late and worked with trainers on the side before participating in team drills alongside quarterback Drake Maye.

Diggs was back—and on time—at Sunday afternoon's Patriots practice in Foxborough.

New England is set to take on the Vikings this coming Saturday in Minnesota for preseason game No. 2. We'll see if Diggs takes the field in that one.

More NFL on Sports Illustrated


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Mike Vrabel Cryptically Answers Why Stefon Diggs Didn't Play in Patriots Preseason Game.

Test hyperlink for boilerplate