FRISCO — Trevon Diggs was standing outside the Dallas Cowboys’ weight room Sunday afternoon to workout when asked a series of questions about his season.
It’s been filled with no interceptions, six games played, a benching, questions about how a concussion was suffered and his relationships with not only coach Brian Schottenheimer but also the front office.
Diggs is a two-time Pro Bowler, a one-time All-Pro and the Cowboys best corner.
Health has dominated his story in 2025.
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He’s expected to return from injured reserve for Thursday’s game against the Lions, his first since Oct. 12 at Carolina. Diggs opened his 21-day practice window Sunday, and if everything goes right, he’ll play.
Start?
That’s another story for another day, given how excited the Cowboys are about rookie Shavon Revel and the vast improvement from DaRon Bland in the last three games.
Yet, Diggs shouldn’t be forgotten.
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He said he was on injured reserve because he encountered soreness and swelling in both knees.
“I feel way better now cause you don’t know how you’re going to feel when you get out there,” Diggs said. “And then I went out there and I was feeling good the first couple of weeks, and then it starts to weigh on me a little bit and I started to get some swelling in my knee. and then like now, I have no swelling in my knee. I feel good. I feel like I’m running good. I feel like my hamstrings strong, everything is good, strong. I feel ready.”
Before we got here, Diggs pushed to start the 2025 season sooner than expected. He was coming off knee surgery, his second in as many years, and surprised some in the organization by playing in Week 1.
Diggs had to continue to get through rehab stints and his lateness or absences forced the team to fine him. At one point, he was benched for the Packers game on Sept. 28.
It was one of the few times Diggs had been known publicly to get disciplined by the club. Schottenheimer was pretty direct with Diggs about his own expectations and was positive about their relationship.
“I think really good,” Schottenheimer said. “Trevon and I have had some really real conversations with one another and sharing our feelings, and I think he and I understand each other, and I respect him as a man and as a father and what an incredible football player. I think he understands what we’re trying to build here and why we’re trying to do it that way. I’m excited to see how he looks and how he feels.”
Diggs was searching for the words to describe his relationship with Schottenheimer, who has not only sat Diggs this season for a series or so for discipline, but also his two star receivers in CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens.
“I know it’s crazy, right,” Diggs said of the discipline. “I feel like … I don’t know … everybody is different, all coaches got their different type of rules and certain rules. Some coaches enforce more things than others, I guess it’s a growing relationship.”
Before Diggs was placed on injured reserve Oct. 25 with knee soreness, he suffered a concussion at his home. Team owner Jerry Jones and Schottenheimer said at the time they were still gathering information about how the injury occurred. At one point, Jones said he had to believe what Diggs was telling him because there was no way to verify how the in-home accident happened.
Players hurting themselves at home isn’t a new thing.
“At home accident,” Diggs said when asked about the concussion, without providing further details. “It happens, it’s life, things happen, feeling 100% better. I feel great.”
Diggs has dealt with off-the-field issues all season starting with the team taking $500,000 from his base salary for his failure to rehab at least 84% of the time at the team facility as he recovered from knee surgery. Diggs joked he wished the team hadn’t done it but was professional about handling it.
“As far as the front office, I love the front office,” Diggs said. “At the end of the day, it’s a business. I have nothing against anybody. If there are corrections that need to be corrected, it’s my job to get it corrected and go out and perform. That’s what it is.”
The Cowboys are entering the final five games of their season with an opportunity to reach the postseason and Diggs’ return comes at the proper time. It’s stunning to see him with no interceptions or pass break-ups. The last time he didn’t have an interception was 2017, his sophomore season at Alabama. That year, he was making the full-time jump to defense from playing wide receiver.
As a pro, his ability to play man-to-man and using his size (6-1) made him one of the top corners in the league. But since 2023, surgeries to both knees and knee swelling/soreness has limited him to19 of a possible 46 regular-season games.
Did people forget how good of a player Diggs is?
“I wouldn’t say they forget,” Diggs said. “But I know what I am. I know who I am. I know what I can do on the field, and I’m going to put that out there and show if they forgot. I’m going to make sure to remind them.”
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