“The Sideline” is an opinion series that reflects my personal observations and analysis. These views are my own and are not affiliated with, nor do they represent, the Dallas Cowboys organization.
As we get ready to ring in the new year, it will be with one less Cowboy. On Tuesday, Dallas announced the team would be parting ways with former All-Pro cornerback Trevon Diggs.
A move that doesn’t shock many fans who followed the team closely these past few seasons, but I am more surprised that it happened before the season ended. The Cowboys still have one more game to play in New York on January 4th.
Diggs electrified the Cowboys’ defense in 2021, with a record-tying 11 interceptions in a single season as a 2nd year corner. Named to the NFL All-Pro and Pro Bowl teams. He followed that campaign with another solid Pro Bowl season.
Dallas believed they were geniuses in 2023 for getting ahead of the game and locking him up early. In July of 2023, the Cowboys signed Diggs to a five-year, $97 million extension which included $42.3 million guaranteed.
It felt like they were getting a steal at the time, as Diggs helped Dallas be one of the top teams in takeaways over his first three seasons. Three weeks into that 2023 season, it all came spiraling down as Diggs tore his ACL during practice, getting ready for the Arizona Cardinals. This shut down his 2023 season, but little did Dallas know, it would be the first pillar to fall that led to his release in 2025.
From Playmaker to Liability
The recent headline will make the Diggs release feel like a watershed moment, but it was only one of the many distractions in the Cowboys & Diggs relationship. Trevon skipped out on the team plane leaving Washington on Christmas Day to spend time with his family in the area.
Now the NFL has strict guidelines on how teams travel and the protocol they need to follow…specifically when they are the road team. Although it was the holiday, the protocol for missing a team plane wasn’t followed nor was it handled professionally by Diggs.
HC Brian Schottenheimer told the media that the team travels together to and from the game. Instead of going through the channels before the game to submit a request to skip the plane, Trevon told coach in the post-game locker room.
“First time I heard about it, Trevon grabbed me after the game,” Schottenheimer said. “I’m celebrating a big win, and I explained to him the protocol, which has always been the protocol: we go up as a team, we come back as a team. And he decided to make a decision.
Diggs decided to tell no one and skip.
Which is the Epitome of Diggs
Trevon Diggs, in my opinion, lacked professionalism and just couldn’t get everything else figured out.
If he didn’t like something, he would just be distant from it and do his own thing instead of taking the responsibility of being a professional in the NFL. Which takes me back to the ACL.
2024 offseason, the Cowboys are getting ready for camp, and Diggs starts the year on PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) and was ‘ready’ just in time for the start of the season. Diggs would battle a few injuries that season before being shut down to have another surgery on the same knee.
Many criticized the Cowboys’ staff for their improper rehab procedures that caused Diggs to have a 2nd surgery. But the defense came out and became more clear that Diggs did not attack his rehab properly.
When you are coming back from those injuries, you have to push yourself to build the strength and trust back into your knee. He did not work at it hard enough.
Great examples on the opposite side are guys like DeMarvion Overshown, who tore everything in his knee and was back on the field in less than a year. The same thing happened with Dak Prescott’s calf injury, who was ready at the following training camp.
The Drama
After the second surgery, the Cowboys’ training staff was ready to push Diggs and get him ready for 2025 Training Camp. But Diggs decided it was best to rehab away from the Cowboys. He rehabbed in Miami with his brother Stefon.
Which, to be fair, is his decision…if he thinks he’s better off in Miami. Go ahead. But again, as a professional- you have a contract that you agreed to. His contract stated that he was to participate in 84% of the offseason workouts.
If he does, he gets a bonus- I can name 40 Cowboys that would love a bonus to come work out in the offseason- and if he misses those workouts, it would be a $500k fine.
Dallas is a 3-and-1/2-hour flight from Miami, and you save an hour with the time change. You know what days you are supposed to report for camp. Be there…then go back to Miami.
The Cowboys ended up fining Diggs $500k and decided to not waive the fine.
“We expect a player paid like Trevon to be here all the time,” Cowboys owner/GM Jerry Jones said in the team’s opening press conference. “We expect him to be leading, expect him to be leading, but that’s not new.”
The next day, Diggs and fellow Cowboys teammate at the time Micah Parsons held a joint press conference with reporters- which was odd in its own right- and of course both had each other’s backs for their respective situations.
Diggs would play in just 8 games in 2025, but a memorable moment would be him going to IR for a concussion after an accident that took place at his home. The front office and coaching staff made it clear they were going to let Diggs explain what happened…staying away from the subject.
It was mysterious and kept hidden and it wouldn’t be until two months later that Diggs told Jane Slater about the incident.
It is not my place to call him a liar or not…but Diggs saying he didn’t think it was a big deal and didn’t need to be addressed until the speculation on the internet went too far.
That part doesn’t make sense to me…it took him two months to tell THAT story? Of course, there will be speculation…this is the Dallas Cowboys, there are a million stories that could be told by current and former players about fans being heavily involved with the off-field lives of players.
Not a big deal? He missed multiple games and had to go on NFL IR for this incident.
The End
The writing became clear on the wall that Diggs would likely not be a Cowboy after the 2025 season when Micah Parsons was traded to the Green Bay Packers. These two had a very close friendship and kept each other engaged.
You felt the disengagement with Diggs immediately when Parsons left Dallas. And Trevon’s 2025 campaign would not be pretty to the once All-Pro corner.
Since signing a five-year, $97 million contract in 2023, he has only played in 21 games.
Now Diggs will fittingly join the Green Bay Packers for their playoff run as GB secured the 7-seed last week. The Packers claimed Diggs off waivers, taking on the remaining two years of his contract. Though the deal has no guarantees left, GB is not forced to keep him a second after their season ends.
If the Packers decide to renegotiate, they will be dealing with Trevon Diggs’ newly acquired agent- a league favorite- David Mulugheta.
Brett's Cowboys Corner 
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