Most of the news coming out concerning the Dallas Cowboys over the past few days has centered around the imminent head coaching hire, which Jerry Jones is expected to announce within the next week at the latest.
Whether it will be current offensive coordinator, Brian Schottenheimer; Eagles OC, Kellen Moore; or emerging new candidate, former Seahawks head coach, Pete Carroll, it will no doubt continue to dominate the news cycle.
Yet, there is troubling news for the Cowboys concerning a player critical to their defensive operation.
Trevon Diggs Set For An Extended Spell On The Sidelines
Trevon Diggs suffered a major knee injury last month that kept him out for the remainder of the season, prior to the team’s Week 15 game against the Carolina Panthers.
Whilst the injury is obviously gruesome and will take time to heal, it could well be significantly worse for both Diggs and Dallas with the latest updates coming in – courtesy of ESPN NFL writer for the Dallas Cowboys, Todd Archer.
Pro Bowl cornerback Trevon Diggs had chondral tissue graft surgery Thursday on his left knee and the recovery could keep him until parts of training camp if not longer, according to multiple sources.
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) January 23, 2025
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With such a monumental injury, it will always take time to recover. But the prospect of losing a key player like Diggs, who is a 2 x Pro Bowler and made the 1st team All-Pro back in 2021, will certainly be very disheartening to a team that desperately needs to keep their blue chip players on the field coming into a new era lead by a new coach.
What Does This Mean For The Dallas Cowboys’ Defense
The Cowboys posted a very average passing defense in 2024, ranking 18th in passing yards allowed, despite having two of the better outside corner tandems in the NFL; DaRon Bland and Diggs – both of whom have previously made the 1st team All-Pro.
And with Diggs locked into a lucrative 5 year, $97 million deal signed in 2023, it isn’t exactly a “cheap and cheerful” secondary either.
If anything, it seems like the Cowboys’ Pro Bowler has been brutally jinxed – signing his deal in the 2023 offseason and then going down with horrific knee injuries in successive years; tearing his ACL in September 2023, before suffering his latest issue less than 15 months later.
Now with training camp in jeopardy, Dallas will no doubt be worried that their #1 CB may not be able to make it back in time for the start of the season. And with next corner up; longtime slot, Jourdan Lewis, set to hit free agency this March, the Cowboys will need to think long and hard about what their secondary could look like in 9 months time.
Archer did give a second, more optimistic update, noting that the timing of the surgery itself was not a cause for concern.
The timing of the surgery had to do with the growing of the graft to ensure best results. Noah Brown had similar procedure done earlier in his career. It’s a more modern take on a micro-fracture surgery is the way it’s been described to me. https://t.co/IoCUuEcVjc
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) January 23, 2025
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However, regardless of the reason behind it, Cowboys fans will not be thrilled at the prospect of potentially being without arguably their best defensive player after game-wrecking linebacker, Micah Parsons, come the start of the 2025 season.
