Out for over a month with a concussion and right knee issues, Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs is moving toward a return from IR. The team expects to open his practice window on Sunday, head coach Brian Schottenheimer announced (via Todd Archer of ESPN). Once that happens, the Cowboys will have 21 days to activate Diggs.
Now in his sixth NFL season, Diggs played the Cowboys’ first six games of 2025 and started in four before suffering a concussion in an accident at his home. He hasn’t taken the field since Oct. 12.
The Cowboys placed Diggs on IR almost two weeks after his concussion, but the move had more to do with concerns over his knee. Notably, it isn’t the same knee that Diggs injured multiple times in the past. He tore his left ACL in 2023 and required chondral graft surgery on the joint last season.
The Cowboys lost two of their first three games without Diggs to fall to 3-5-1, but the team has since won three in a row, including a Thanksgiving Day victory against the Chiefs. Dallas, whose defense got off to a woeful start this year, has undergone a few notable changes since Diggs last played.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones made a pair of major acquisitions before the Nov. 4 trade deadline, acquiring defensive tackle Quinnen Williams from the Jets and linebacker Logan Wilson from the Bengals. The Cowboys have also gotten back a couple of defensive reinforcements, linebacker DeMarvion Overshown and rookie cornerback Shavon Revel, from long-term absences.
Those additions have helped the Cowboys surge into the playoff race, and they’ll hope Diggs will also have a positive impact after a rough start to the season. The two-time Pro Bowler didn’t log any interceptions or passes defensed before going on IR. Worse, Diggs allowed a shocking 154.9 passer rating – not far below a perfect mark of 158.3 – when opposing quarterbacks targeted him, according to Pro Football Focus.
The Cowboys expect Diggs’ return to come during an all-important showdown with the 7-5 Lions on Thursday, Jones said (via Jon Machota of The Athletic). Both NFC playoff contenders will enter the game with little room for error. Assuming he plays, Diggs will rejoin a cornerback group that saw Revel, DaRon Bland, and Reddy Steward lead the way in snaps in the Cowboys’ win over the Chiefs. They likely won’t have to deal with Lions No. 1 receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, who’s expected to sit out with an ankle injury.
Even if Diggs performs better during the last several weeks of the season, this may go down as his final stretch with the organization that drafted him in 2020. The Cowboys signed Diggs to a five-year, $97MM extension in July 2023, but there’s no guaranteed money on his deal beyond this season, per Over the Cap. Diggs’ ongoing injury troubles and decline in performance may lead the Cowboys to go in another direction. Releasing Diggs could help the Cowboys keep pending free agent wide receiver George Pickens, who will earn a massive raise on either the franchise tag or a long-term deal.