There may be a section of Cowboys fans who are in absolute shock that Dallas released cornerback Trevon Diggs on Tuesday. While the timing may be unique, this relationship has been careening towards a permanent separation for a while. There have been signs of frustration, from both sides, since the season began with the start of training camp in Oxnard, CA, and nothing that has happened since mid-July has changed anything really.
The majority of what follows was first written in a piece from several weeks ago, identifying how 2025 was another lost season thanks to the foibles of owner Jerry Jones. It’s been updated to account for what has taken place since.
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While the football world and Cowboys Nation focused on the Micah Parsons contract negotiation and holdout throughout the early summer, the team heading west to Oxnard, CA for training camp introduced a new stand off to the public. A section of the fanbase had certainly started to grow weary of not having star cornerback Trevon Diggs at the coaches’ disposal after he signed a huge deal in 2023.Diggs, who had more interceptions than any player in 30 years when he hauled in 11 picks in 2021, was a boom or bust corner. He gambled, relying on his insane ball skills, but also allowing opposing receivers big plays on a fairly regular basis. He was the living embodiment of the argument whether it was better to have a turnover machine than or sound coverage without the changes of possession. Some felt he played more soundly in 2022, despite his INT total dropping from 11 to 3.
The way he started 2023 as a true lockdown corner over the first two weeks was quickly submarined by a torn ACL in a Week 3 practice. He had only allowed two receptions for just 26 yards with an INT and another PBU, while also not missing a single tackle. It appeared that Diggs had put it all together after receiving a $97 million contract extension.
Apparently, Diggs pissed a lot of people at The Star in Frisco off during his rehab. The Cowboys front office has a rather world renown orthopedic surgeon in Dr. Daniel Cooper, and while it’s unreported who performed the initial surgery, the front office has let it be known they don’t feel Diggs followed team instructions in how he worked through his rehab.During the introductory press conference to 2025’s camp, Jones placed the blame for Diggs’ 2024 knee issue that resulted in a January 2025 surgery after missing six games, on his lackadaisical rehab to the ACL. Jones spoke of being regretful they paid Diggs what they did without seeing him do the leadership things they wanted from him.
It was all a bit jarring for fans, who had never heard Jones single out a player in such a fashion. He was publicly speaking to withholding half a million dollars from Diggs for not being at team workouts, and putting the crosshairs on him.
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Of course, Diggs and Parsons are best friends, and with Parsons’ hold out and all of the background that eventually spilled about how long he and the team had been at odds, it became hard to disassociate Parsons and Diggs friendship from how the front office was dealing with Diggs.
At the same time, it’s hard to imagine the players not at least trading thoughts about being disgruntled with their employer with each other. Both are human nature and happen every day in the world of people who don’t make $100,000 a year at their jobs. There’s no reason to think being millionaires and billionaires removes this dynamic.Diggs’ questionable rehab led to the speculation he wasn’t going to return to the team until November. And perhaps he shouldn’t have, but he somehow was ready to go in Week 1. Was it the public pressure from the org that cajoled him to the early return? Perhaps an offseason interview will shed light.
But Diggs struggled, mightily, in 2025. He gave up a couple touchdowns to the New York Giants in Week 2, and another in Week 3 against the Bears. He played through the first six games of the season, and then suffered a concussion in the leadup to Week 7, through an, at-the-time, mystery encounter at Diggs’ home. Soon after that missed game, he was moved to IR, but his knee was given as the reason for shutting him down for their next four games.
Once he was able to return to the practice field, the activation call never came despite the team’s consistent struggles in the secondary. It seems that Diggs, a man coverage corner is not on board with the ever-failing zone scheme of embattled defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus.
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Head coach Brian Schottenheimer refused to waiver on what he wants to see from Diggs on the practice field, looking for total buy in from the sixth-year corner.Diggs claimed to be ready since Week 14, but the Cowboys left him inactive as the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings abused the Dallas secondary in two straight defeats that ended the club’s playoff chances. The coach had laid down the law, leading to frustration for all involved.
That was, until the Cowboys lost DaRon Bland to another foot injury, ending his season with three games to go. Suddenly, Diggs was doing enough of what the coach needed to see and is set to play in Week 16. He suddenly has a chance to add positive play and buy in, heading into an offseason where its seemed for the last two months would see him traded or released by early March.
But Diggs continued to struggle as he did earlier in the year. He started both contests against the Los Angeles Chargers and Washington Commanders, but didn’t do much to help the porous Dallas secondary. And now, prior to the team’s Week 18 season finale in New York against the Giants, he’s been waived and made available for any of the other 31 teams to place a claim on his contract.
Disgruntled players are all over the league. High salary doesn’t solve all problems and the Cowboys aren’t immune to these situations where the front office and or a coaching staff grow tired of one of their players. But considering the track record of Jones over the course of his 2025 decisions, it’s impossible not to put some of this on him and his ways.
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Recap of how Cowboys, Trevon Diggs relationship soured to point of divorce
