ARLINGTON — As of Friday, Trevon Diggs was certain he would play Sunday night. He had practiced all week and he said he was included in the game plan.
But on Saturday he was told he wasn’t.
So Cowboys’ 27-year-old cornerback Diggs stood in street clothes Sunday night and watched while Minnesota’s J.J. McCarthy passed for 250 yards and two touchdowns in the Vikings’ 34-26 victory in AT&T Stadium.
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“I think how it was handled, I didn’t like that,” he said afterward. “Because I thought that I was playing. So it is what it is. Try to focus on next week. See if I could show them whatever they want to see.”
Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones flatly stated after the loss: “Diggs isn’t healthy enough to play for us. He’s not healthy enough for us to put him out there.”
Diggs hasn’t played since the Oct. 12 loss to Carolina, a game in which he had three tackles. A few days later, Diggs sustained a concussion in an unspecified “accident at home” and hasn’t played since.
In recent weeks, Jones, coach Brian Schottenheimer and defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus have stated that Diggs is holding himself back from playing until he can show consistency.
As of Friday’s injury report, Diggs was listed as questionable. The following day, he was informed he wouldn’t play against the Vikings, remaining on the reserve/injured-designated list.
“I was upset,” he said.
Was he given a reason for not being activated?
“I don’t know the special requirements that I need to show that I can play,” he said. “I’ve been in practice. I’ve been practicing well. I’ve been running around, doing what I’m supposed to. It’s not my decision at the end of the day.
“So we have to wait and see whenever we go back to practice, just do what I can do to show that I’m ready to play.”
The clock, however, is ticking against Diggs. If he isn’t activated by December 20, he won’t play this season. And since Sunday’s loss all but mathematically eliminated the Cowboys from playoff contention with three games remaining, what would the incentive be at this point to activate Diggs?
And if Diggs doesn’t play again this season, it certainly doesn’t seem to bode well for his chances of remaining a Cowboy next season, despite the fact he has three seasons remaining on his contract.
“I love Dallas,” he said. “It’s a great place. Great relationship with these guys. Of course I want to be here.
“But at the end of the day this is a business. I don’t know what the future holds. It’s in God’s hands. So I’m just doing what I can do, showing up where I can show up and go from there.”
Quarterback Dak Prescott said Sunday that he and Diggs spoke after the cornerback learned he wouldn’t be activated to face the Vikings.
Prescott said he told Diggs to keep his head up.
“I told him as simple as this: ‘Go one day and ask what they expect from you and so you have the plan throughout the week, so you can make sure you do exactly that,’ ” Prescott said. ‘And so you know exactly what’s needed for you to become active and get back to being the guy you are.’
“And he accepted that.”
As of Sunday night, though, the Cowboys’ braintrust seemed to be as firm in their stance as ever, while Diggs said he’s puzzled as to why that’s the case.
Jones was asked whether he sees Diggs fulfilling the last three years of his contract.
“We don’t have to look at that right now,” he said. “We, of course, are very disappointed that he hasn’t had more playing time this year.
“I’m disappointed that he hasn’t had more playing time in the last several years and his injuries have had a lot to do with that.”
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