How Torrey Smith is trying to help the Eagles get Stefon Diggs

Share

Torrey Smith helped the Eagles win one Super Bowl, and it looks like he’s trying to help them win another one.

Smith, who caught 20 passes for 157 yards and a TD for the Eagles during the 2017 postseason, was on social media Monday trying to recruit disgruntled Vikings Stefon Diggs — who both played at Maryland — to his former team.

The 26-year-old Diggs, who has 165 catches, 2,251 yards and 15 TD catches the last two years with the Vikings, has made it clear he’s not happy in Minnesota, and tweeted out Monday afternoon, “It’s time for a new beginning.”

Diggs isn't a free agent, but if he continues expressing his displeasure with the organization, maybe the Vikings would be open to trading him.

Smith, who retired after last season, had an idea!

Smith and Diggs both played at Maryland and although they didn’t overlap, they’ve been close for some time.

In a 2015 story on website Baltimore Fishbowl, Diggs is quoted as saying he spoke frequently with Smith after he declared for the draft following his junior year.

“Torrey Smith, as anybody knows, he’s a great person,” Diggs said. “Along the process, I gave him a lot of phone calls, text messages to see where I should be training, what I should be doing as far as just the whole process. He gave me a lot of guidance and a lot of advice. I really appreciate that. I try to pick his brain as much as I can to get all the information I can for the next level, because I’m trying to be a sponge.”

Smith was in College Park from 2008 through 2010 before getting drafted in the second round in 2011 by the Ravens. Diggs spent 2012 through 2014 at Maryland before getting drafted in the fifth round in 2015 by the Vikings.

Smith spent four years with the Ravens and two with the 49ers before his one season with the Eagles. He retired after catching six passes with the Panthers in 2018.

Diggs has been dropping hints that he’s unhappy in Minnesota for a while now.

“I feel like there’s truth to all rumors, no matter how you dress it up,” he told reporters covering the Vikings in October. I can’t sit up here and act like everything is OK. It’s obviously not.”

The Eagles are desperate for wide receivers. They have only 33-year-old DeSean Jackson, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside and — for now — 30-year-old Alshon Jeffery under contract.

Diggs signed a six-year contract extension just 20 months ago that runs through 2023 with base salaries ranging from $10.9 million in 2020 to $11.4 million in 2023.

Click here to download the MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Flyers, Sixers and Phillies games easily on your device.

More on the Eagles

Contact Us