FRISCO — Brian Schottenheimer met the media late Friday morning, smiling and in a good mood.
It beats crying.
Schottenheimer quickly announced that his best corner, Trevon Diggs, will be lost for Sunday’s game against Washington after suffering a concussion as a result of an accident at his home.
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Schottenheimer offered concern for Diggs and said he didn’t have many details and gave off the impression he’s not worried long term about the corner.
Considering just how bad the Cowboys’ secondary has played this season, you would have thought Schottenheimer resorted to pulling his hair out when told about Diggs. Or maybe shave off his beard. Or maybe play Taylor Swift songs at practice instead of DMX songs that pump up his team.
Schottenheimer, the son of a head coach, a man who’s been around a little bit, was calm. He was smiling. He was joking around when he walked into Friday’s news conference. The head coach’s hair was in place. Beard in good shape.
And no Taylor Swift music at practice.
DMX in full effect.
Does Schottenheimer know something we don’t?
“It’s part of the business,” Schottenheimer said. “It’s unfortunate. You want what’s best for Trevon and certainly wish him well. Again, next man up, we got guys we’re excited about getting a chance to evaluate.”
The Cowboys enter the Commanders game last in the NFL, allowing 387.5 yards per game.
This is with Diggs on the field.
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Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Micah Parsons (right) and Dallas Cowboys defensive back Trevon Diggs exchanged jerseys after a NFL football game on Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Arlington. (AP Photo/Matt Patterson)
Matt Patterson / AP
All week, defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus and Schottenheimer have told reporters they’re looking for solutions to this defense from personnel and scheme changes.
The focal point this week was to start Kaiir Elam and Diggs as outside corners with DaRon Bland moving to the nickel.
Cross that out.
Schottenheimer said Elam has improved the last few weeks.
“A lot of confidence,” Schottenheimer said. “Kaiir’s biggest thing is trusting in what he sees. There’s time in man-to-man and in zone where he’ll play a little bit soft. As a secondary unit, we need to all get better at our stick awareness.”
That became apparent in the surprising Week 6 loss at Carolina where on a key fourth-and-4 play, Bland dropped back too far into coverage, allowing receiver Hunter Renfrow to make a 7-yard reception. It also raised questions about whether linebacker Kenneth Murray Jr. needed to get back faster in coverage, though he just missed tipping the pass during the play.
It was just another example of how janky this zone defense has been for the Cowboys through six weeks of the season. And now entering Sunday’s game against a Washington team without one of its best receivers, Terry McLaurin, the Cowboys will face it without Diggs.
“It doesn’t change,” he said. “We adjust always when you get into game days anyway. It’s a good plan, I like the plan. We have to go out and execute the plan, and like I said, it’s going to come down to us playing well against a really good team. It doesn’t change what we’re going to do.”
Schottenheimer mentioned the possibility of playing corners Trikweze Bridges and Caelen Carson more on Sunday. Carson is on injured reserve/return from a knee injury and eligible to return. Carson could get activated for Sunday’s game.
All of this is part of the life Schottenheimer signed up for when he was named head coach on Jan. 24.
“Trikweze Bridges is showing some really good things,” Schottenheimer said. “Caelen Carson, talked about his ability to come back; we’ll see how practice goes today. This is the NFL, and if you’re unsure of what’s going to happen, just wait, cause something is going to happen and you deal with it and you don’t lose sleep over it. The biggest thing is the concern for Trevon, and he’s OK. Seems like he is.”
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