It would be understandable if, at this point, fans and observers of the Cowboys simply had no idea quite what to think about the status of cornerback Trevon Diggs. The year has been a struggle–he had offseason surgery on the same knee in which he tore his ACL in 2023–when he has been healthy, and it’s been made worse by the fact that he hasn’t been healthy, first suffering a concussion back in October in an accident at home, then needing rehab for another knee injury.
Except this injury was on his right knee, not the knee he had previously injured.
Diggs was on injured reserve but insists he is ready to play, and was prepared to be on the field for Week 15 against the Vikings on Sunday night. But the day before that game, Diggs was informed that the team did not think he was ready to return after all, and decided not to play him. Now, with Week 16 looming, Diggs is back at Cowboys practice and again ready to play.
Trevon Diggs ‘Having Fun Playing Football’
Coach Brian Schottenheimer, talking to reporters before practice on Friday, did not explicitly say Diggs will be on the field, but certainly indicated that would be the case.
Said Schottenheimer of Diggs: “Mr. Diggs is having a very good week. We’ll see how he does today. I will say this—when you look at Trevon this week, what I love most about him is he is having fun playing football. And he’s smiling, running around, but to his credit, he is having a really good week. So we’ll see how today goes.
That’s good news. Diggs has been uncharacteristically sour this season, going back to his early season complaints about the lack of man coverage in Matt Eberflus’ defense. Schottenheimer said Diggs has been more himself this week.
“I think I just see it more,” he said. “I think I see him flying to the ball and covering down and playing really well.”
Cowboys Dealing With DaRon Bland News
The Cowboys certainly could use Diggs’ return sooner rather than later after news that the team had found that DaRon Bland could need another surgery on the injured foot that cost him 10 games last season. Bland will not play again this year, whether or not surgery happens, and the Cowboys will need corner help.
Like Diggs, Bland has struggled with injuries all season. But Schottenheimer would not say whether the injury held him back.
“I don’t want to get into hypotheticals,” Schottenheimer said. “The thing about DaRon, when you talk about him is, it is really like losing two people because of the fact that he can play corner and the fact that he plays the nickel spot as well. Unfortunately, for us, we haven’t played well enough in any phase, it’s not just DaRon.”
GettyDaRon Bland #26 of the Dallas Cowboys
Trevon Diggs, Cowboys Not Creating INTs
The Cowboys have leaned on Diggs and Bland to provide interceptions in recent years, and they were sixth in the NFL in interceptions in 2023 with 17. The team had 13 last year, which ranked 12th. This year, they have just six interceptions, which is 27th.
That’s not all on Diggs and Bland, but they’re certainly a big part of that shortcoming.
Said Schottenheimer: “We know we have not created the turnovers we have needed. The reason for that is different—it starts with the pass rush as we know, and we have been up and down with the pass rush. But both of these guys have elite ball skills and when the ball comes to their direction and they’re in position to make the plays, they make the plays. There’s a lot of reasons we haven’t gotten the same numbers.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Cowboys Again Indicate Good News on Trevon Diggs appeared first on Heavy Sports.