Something is keeping Trevon Diggs off the field for the Cowboys, and it sounds like it could be more than just the rehab from his latest knee injury.
That’s at least the apparent takeaway after head coach Brian Schottenheimer made some cryptic comments about the two-time Pro Bowl cornerback, who has been sidelined since the team’s Week 6 game in Carolina.
“He’s still in the ramp-up period. I think he does feel healthy; I know he wants to play,” Schottenheimer told reporters from The Star on Wednesday. “But at the end of the day, we have to do what we think is in the best interest of not just him, but also the football team. When you miss time, the ramp-up time is good not just for your body, but for your mind and figuring out some of the defense; there’s some new faces in the huddle and things like that. Love him as a player, but ultimately he’s got to show us he’s ready to do everything the right way.”
There’s an awful lot in that answer to read into, but not many hard and fast details as to why, if he’s truly healthy, the $97 million corner isn’t doing anything more than practicing.
The 2025 season has been a rollercoaster with the sixth-year star. He started out being fined $500,000 over the summer for not working out with the team and was then vocal when teammate Micah Parsons got traded away in August.
Diggs came back on a pitch count over the first four games of the Cowboys’ schedule as he returned to game speed following offseason knee surgery. He then played every defensive snap against the Jets and Panthers, but the league’s 2021 interceptions leader didn’t register a single pick through six weeks.
Then he was reported to have suffered a concussion in an “at-home accident” just prior to the Washington game in Week 7, though no further explanation has ever been given.
After sitting out that game, Diggs did not practice the following week. He was finally placed on injured reserve just before the Broncos matchup on Oct. 26, though the reason given was for a right knee issue.
Diggs officially returned to practice several days before the Cowboys traveled to Detroit to face the Lions in Week 14, but he was not moved to the active roster and still remains within his three-week evaluation window.
Schottenheimer’s statement on Wednesday certainly makes it sound like the staff is evaluating more than just his knee. The coach alluded to as much when pressed as to whether Diggs’s issues extend beyond the playing field.
“Everything. Consistency through everything,” Schottenheimer elaborated. “He’s no different from Dak Prescott or Jake Ferguson or Kenny Clark. Continue to do everything the right way. I thought last week was a good first step, and hopefully this week’s an even better step. If it is, then you’ll see him out there.”
These latest comments will only add to the rampant speculation that the team is about to cut ties with Diggs- who has appeared in just 19 of the Cowboys’ last 47 games thanks to injuries- in a bid to recoup some of their salary cap investment in him.
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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Cowboys HC Brian Schottenheimer’s cryptic update muddies $97M CB’s status
Reporting by Todd Brock, Cowboys Wire / Cowboys Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
