SD. A Crime Scene in the Backfield: Jerry Jones dumped gasoline on Cowboys’ Trevon Diggs situation after Week 8 loss
The Dallas Cowboys are 3-4-1, but it sure feels like the sky is falling after Sunday’s blowout loss to the Denver Broncos. It served as a reminder of just how many pieces the Cowboys need on defense, and having Trevon Diggs out there would not have made a difference.
Diggs was put on injured reserve over the weekend. He hadn’t cleared concussion protocol, but team reporters noted that he’s still having issues with his right knee. While Diggs might not be fully healthy, it would be more surprising than not if he returns this season because of his seemingly fractured relationship with Jerry Jones and the front office.
Jones was asked after the loss if he expects Diggs to return this season, and he all but threw the cornerback under the bus.
“I don’t know. It depends on—he’s got an area that’s hurt,”Jones said. That will have to heal. As we get into it, we’ll see how it goes. He is generally just got to get in better shape to play … Why not? Yes. There’s a little beyond my expectations. We’ve got to see how he feels from his injury. He hasn’t been there physically in full shape for us.”
Jerry Jones dumped gasoline on Cowboys’ Trevon Diggs situation after Week 8 loss
Jones certainly comes off as someone who doesn’t know what they’re talking about. While there’s some credence to that, and he tends to ramble while addressing the media, he is also very calculated. It felt like a direct shot at Diggs that Jones called out the shape he’s in.
It’s one thing to say a player isn’t healthy. That Jones mentioned Diggs’ physical shape twice in the same soundbite is pretty damning. Maybe that was Jones’ way of saying that Diggs isn’t healthy, but the 83-year-old has discussed player injuries in the past and not used the term “shape” in a derogatory manner.
Maybe we’re reading too much into that part, but regardless, it’s befuddling that Diggs suffered a concussion, of which we still don’t know the details, and is suddenly going to miss a minimum of five games, if not more, because of his knee. The math isn’t mathing.
Something is off, and it potentially goes back to the Jones-Diggs relationship. There is frustration from both sides after the Cowboys fined him $500,000 for rehabbing away from the facility in the offseason and called out his leadership and ACL rehab to the media.
Diggs beat his expected timeline to be active in Week 1, but he’s looked like a shell of himself this season, allowing a 154.9 passer rating when targeted. That is second-worst among 103 cornerbacks that’ve logged at least 100 coverage snaps going into Week 8, per Pro Football Focus.
It feels like both parties want to move on. Hopefully, the Cowboys are able to find a trade partner before the November 4 deadline, because it does no good to keep him around for the rest of the season.
