FRISCO — The Cowboys weren’t willing to put a timetable on the return of cornerback Trevon Diggs from offseason knee surgery. Turns out he had one the whole time.
When asked if he thought during his rehabilitation process whether he’d be ready to play, Diggs responded, “Who told you I wasn’t supposed to?”
No one, in fact.
So, if Diggs’ return was right on time, in his mind, could more snaps be the next step in the process? That’s a little more ambiguous — at least publicly.
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Diggs played 27 out of a possible 63 snaps in the Cowboys’ 24-20 season-opening loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday. The Cowboys, according to multiple analytics outlets, played only zone coverage in passing situations against the Eagles. Collectively, the Cowboys’ passing defense contained Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, who was efficient, however. He finished 19-of-23 for 152 yards and no touchdowns. Fifty-one of those passing yards came on one completion to Jahan Dotson with Kaiir Elam in coverage.
As for Diggs, it was a promising start and first step back.
“I felt good,” said, who finished with the highest Pro Football Focus coverage grade (76.1) on the team. “Thankful and blessed. Just to go out there and be with my teammates, competing. I missed it a lot, just being out all the time that I was. It was just a blessing to be out there.”
The performance was a little bit different than his debut last season. Just like this year, Diggs was also working back from an injury last off-season. He was recovering from a torn ACL sustained the year prior. He made it back in time to play 72 snaps against the Cleveland Browns. Diggs played in at least 93% of all defensive snaps in eight of the 11 games he appeared in last season.
This time, it appears Diggs’ playing time could be different.
“Still working,” Diggs said when asked about his snap counts. “Just a little bit more than last week. I feel like it’s best and the smartest and the safest thing to do. I feel like increasing it a couple more plays and just working my way back slowly.”
One potential curveball in that plan: Cowboys corner DaRon Bland didn’t practice on Wednesday as he deals with a foot injury. That’s a change from Monday when he was present. The Cowboys value Bland’s versatility and proved it in the season opener, moving Bland from outside corner in base situations, to slot corner in nickel situations. Having an extra defensive back on the field in nickel allowed Diggs to come off the sideline and play.
If Bland’s status is uncertain, it could mean an increase in snaps for someone else. Diggs, if he’s ready and willing, could be a potential option there.
At full strength, it’s worth wondering what the Cowboys’ favorite defensive back alignment would be. Most teams run three wide receiver sets, prompting the need for more nickel opportunities than base, meaning there should be more snaps for Diggs, regardless. If the Cowboys are willing to run base as much as they did on Thursday, though, it would mean that either Diggs, Bland or Elam would see less snaps in that formation.
Schottenheimer said they’re still “working on those numbers” when it comes to plans for Diggs in the future.
“We’ll see how that plays out,” Schottenheimer said. “But he did a nice job in the game for us on Thursday.”
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