FRISCO, Texas (AP) — The Cowboys waived cornerback Trevon Diggs on Tuesday, ending a tumultuous final season a game early in a Dallas career that never lived up to the promise of a 2021 All-Pro performance that included 11 interceptions.
The move came five days before Dallas’ season finale Sunday at the New York Giants, with the Cowboys (7-8-1) already guaranteed to miss the playoffs for the second year in a row. Diggs will be a free agent after clearing waivers.
The season began with Diggs playing in the opener, earlier than expected coming off the recovery from his second major knee surgery in two years.
Diggs played six games before sustaining a concussion in an accident at home Oct. 16, something Diggs waited two months to try to explain to reporters. He said he was trying to install a TV when he was hit in the head by a mounting pole.
As Diggs’ absence continued after he was out of the concussion protocol, the team said his delayed return was more about issues with the 27-year-old’s knees. He ended up missing eight games.
Asked during the absence what the team needed to see from Diggs to get him back on the field, coach Brian Schottenheimer said the sixth-year player needed to show consistency in many areas in practice and in meetings. Owner Jerry Jones flatly said near the end of the absence that Diggs wasn’t healthy enough to play.
A person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press that waiving Diggs before the end of the season wasn’t the result of a specific incident.
Diggs’ departure was a culmination of factors, including performance and off-field issues, and the move was best for Diggs and the Cowboys, the person said on condition of anonymity because the team wasn’t commenting specifically on Diggs.
The Cowboys withheld a workout bonus in Diggs’ contract after he spent last offseason rehabbing his latest knee injury with his own medical personnel. He was also benched by Schottenheimer early in the season for reasons the coach never fully explained.
Just as it appeared the Cowboys had settled on keeping Diggs off the field the rest of season, fellow starting cornerback DaRon Bland was sidelined by a season-ending foot injury two weeks ago.
Diggs played twice more, against the Los Angeles Chargers and Washington. He was activated the last day before a deadline that would have required the Cowboys to keep him on injured reserve the rest of the season.
Diggs was already a prime candidate to be released in the offseason in a cost-cutting move, three years after he signed a $97 million extension.
The finale against the Giants will be the 30th game without Diggs in uniform since the start of the 2023 season. His NFL-leading total of 11 interceptions in 2021 was the most in the league since Dallas rookie Everson Walls had 11 in 1981. Diggs has had five picks in 38 games since then.
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