The Dallas Cowboys have been ravaged by injuries in 2020, to say the least. Dak Prescott, Tyron Smith, and La’el Collins have all hit the shelf with season-ending ailments. In addition to this, several other players have spent time on injured reserve as well.
One of the most devastating injuries of this season happened in Week 9 when second-round pick Trevon Diggs suffered a broken foot against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The timetable for a return was 4-6 weeks. He’s missed the last two games, however, Cowboys COO Stephen Jones thinks the promising young cornerback could return sometime this month.
“I think he’s got a great opportunity,” Jones said Thursday, via the team’s website. “I’ve seen him do some work this week. He’s out of his boot. He’s a competitive guy and I think he’s going to be a great one for us. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if he gets back a little sooner than we thought.”
After early struggles against some of the league’s elite receivers like Julio Jones, Odell Beckham Jr, and DK Metcalf during the first month of the season, Diggs was coming into his own before his injury. In his final five games, he recorded 22 tackles and eight passes defended. The highlight of this stretch was his performance against the Philadelphia Eagles when he hauled in the first two interceptions of his young career.
Diggs told the media a few days after his breakout game that things were coming into place for him.
“Everything is starting to come together the more repetitions that I’m getting,” Diggs said. “I’m getting familiar with the rosters and things like that and the game speed. I’m getting better every game and trying to improve every game and learn from my mistakes, and try not to make the same mistakes and just keep fighting.”
The rookie also said he’d rather look at his mistakes and learn from them as opposed to glorifying his good plays.
“I like to watch the mistakes and I like to watch the things that I do wrong,” Diggs said. “Make a play on the ball, catching an interception is great but they’re things that I need to work on to get better. I’m looking forward to getting better every day. When I go out to practice I want to work on something.
“It’s good and all, and I caught an interception but I’m looking for things to get better.”
For the season, Diggs has 48 tackles and 10 passes defended in nine games, not too shabby at all.
The Cowboys have lost five of their last six games and are currently in last place in the NFC East at 3-8. However, no other team in the division has more than four wins. If the division title remains within reach and Diggs continues to improve then him seeing the field again is a possibility. On the contrary, if the team can’t shake their losing ways then a more cautious approach may be the way to go to make sure he’s healthy for 2021 and beyond.
