This has been the season from hell for the Dallas Cowboys. Originally listed as questionable on the final Week 15 injury report, cornerback Trevon Diggs went from being ruled out against the Carolina Panthers to reporters dropping the bombshell that Diggs needs season-ending surgery.
The severity of Diggs’ injury wasn’t initially clear. Cowboys fans pondered if he needed major surgery or whether this was procedural clean-up with the team not having anything to play for over the final four weeks.
Since this season can’t help but deliver bad news, the injury is to the same knee that Diggs underwent ACL surgery. Stephen Jones told reporters before Sunday’s game it’s a serious injury that will require roughly an eight-month recovery.
That puts Diggs in danger of missing some time next year, but arguably the bigger concern is what longtime Cowboys reporter Clarence Hill Jr. revealed before kickoff.
Cowboys reportedly unhappy with Trevon Diggs over ACL rehab
“Unfortunately, he had an incident in the game, and hat’s off to him for trying to play through it,” Stephen Jones said pregame. “I don’t think he made it any worse. It’s a cartilage issue that finally came loose on him. … It’s gonna take a little bit of time for him to get back, probably eight months.
Hill has been on the Cowboys beat since 1997. He is as plugged-in as any reporter covering the team. His reporting suggests that Diggs did not attack his ACL rehab with the desired fortitude. It’s unclear if that exposed Diggs to this latest injury, but it wouldn’t be crazy if that was the case.
Regardless, Hills’ report is highly concerning. Diggs’ “effort” has been brought into question on multiple occasions throughout his career. Most of that has had to do with tackling.
Diggs is full aware of that narrative.
Earlier this season, the former All-Pro took offense when WFAA anchor Mike Leslie criticized his effort against the 49ers. Diggs lashed out at Leslie before the media was even allowed into the locker room. Diggs and Leslie have since made up, but Hill’s report won’t do much to hush talk about the star cornerback’s effort. If anything, it will spark more uncomfortable conversations.
If it’s true that Diggs didn’t attack his ACL rehab head-on, it is fair to question what he’ll look like on the other side of his second surgery. We are now talking about two major operations on the same knee within the span of a year.
All of a sudden, Diggs’ future in Dallas looks pretty bleak.
