The NFL Scouting Combine is a great place for head coaches and general managers to squash rumors.
Or attempt to squash them, anyway.
Minnesota Vikings GM Rick Spielman was asked Tuesday about the status of wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who recently deleted all Vikings-related content from his Instagram amid speculation that he's unhappy in Minnesota and may want a trade.
LIVE stream the Celtics all season and get the latest news and analysis on all of your teams from NBC Sports Boston by downloading the My Teams App.
"He's not only a major part of our offense and a major part of our organization winning games, but he also does a lot of things for this organization off the field as well," Spielman responded, via NFL.com.
"There is no reason ... to anticipate that Stefon Diggs is not going to be a Minnesota Viking."
That settles that, right? New England Patriots fans can give up on the dream of Bill Belichick trading for the talented wideout, right?
Not quite.
Recent history tells us an NFL GM refuting a rumor doesn't preclude it from coming to life. Just ask Giants general manager Dave Gettleman, who was adamant New York wouldn't trade Odell Beckham Jr. ("We didn't sign him to trade him") last January before promptly dealing him to the Cleveland Browns two months later.
New England Patriots
You can also ask Spielman himself: The Vikings GM said in 2013 the team had "no intent" to move wideout Percy Harvin, only to flip Harvin to the Seattle Seahawks that March.
The takeaway? Even if the Vikings say Diggs is a part of their future -- the 26-year-old has four years remaining on his five-year, $72 million contract -- a lot can change between now and the beginning of the new league year in March.
If the Vikings-Diggs relationship does sour, there's reason for the Patriots to be interested: New England lacked a top-flight wide receiver outside Julian Edelman last season, and adding an elite offensive weapon perhaps could convince Tom Brady to stay in Foxboro.
Click here to listen and subscribe to Phil Perry's Next Pats Podcast: