FRISCO – The Dallas Cowboys are counting on a new player who can catch the football in George Pickens. Are they smart to also plan for help from a player who not long ago was an elite pass defender?
Former All-Pro cornerback Trevon Diggs, who has missed parts of the last two seasons with knee injuries, said he is planning to be ready for Week 1 although he is expected to miss most of training camp. But after leading the NFL with 11 interceptions in 2021, Diggs has only six over the last three years. He suffered an injury to his knee early in 2023 and played 11 games last season before suffering another injury to the same knee.
He underwent surgery in January.
“My ACL Rehab journey was very successful,” Diggs said during the offseason. “I ended up coming back to play 2 months sooner than I was suppose to.”
The Cowboys became frustrated with the cornerback’s rehab this offseason, which had him leaving Dallas for large junks of time to work his own personal staff in Florida. However, Diggs showed up the recent minicamp at The Star.
Said head coach Brian Schottenheimer, “It’s going good. All signs are positive.”
How realistic is it that Diggs returns for the season opener against the defending Super Bowl champs Sept. 4? He will, as a reminder, start next month’s training camp in Oxnard on the PUP list.
The Cowboys can afford to wait on Diggs. They have DaRon Bland at one cornerback and this offseason traded for former Buffalo Bills’ first-round draft choice Kaiir Elam on the other. Caelen Carson also showed flashes of brilliance as a rookie in 2024, littered with inconsistency.
After a handful of significant knee injuries, Diggs may never return to being one of the NFL’s best ball-hawking cornerbacks. But his potential makes him worth the wait.
