The Dallas Cowboys disposed of the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. While there is a lot to feel good about from the win, the biggest storyline from the weekend is Trevon Diggs’ knee injury, which will require season-ending surgery.
Details of Diggs’ injury have started trickling out and they are concerning, to say the least. Executive vice president Stephen Jones told 105.3 The Fan on Monday that Diggs is dealing with fluid in his knee and surgery is related to his articular cartilage.
Luckily, the articular cartilage is not connected to the ACL or other ligaments. It does not appear that Diggs suffered ligament damage, which is noteworthy, but this is still a major injury nonetheless. That it’s the same knee Diggs suffered a torn ACL is highly concerning.
It’s unfortunate, too, that the injury occurred late in the season. While a return timeline is not definitive, the likely endgame is alarming.
Jones believes that Diggs could miss all of training camp and his timeline will be right up against the start of the 2025 season. It’s similar to what Diggs went through last year following ACL surgery, though he was activated from the PUP list not long after the team arrived in Oxnard.
The big difference is that Diggs suffered his ACL tear in September. It’s unclear if this surgery is as significant, but that the injury occurred nearly two months later in the season relative to the ACL makes a pronounced difference as far as projecting his return.
Regardless, this is the worse-case scenario for Diggs and the Cowboys.
With a return to training camp unlikely, Diggs’ initial return to practice could bleed into the regular season. Assuming he’ll need a ramp-up period, the two-time Pro Bowler might not be “fully back” until the second half of the season.
That feels like a best-case scenario at this point. Diggs is only one year removed from tearing his ACL in the same knee. That won’t make the recovery process any easier.
Diggs signed a five-year, $97 million contract extension two years ago. The cornerback market has exploded since so the deal has aged extremely well. Diggs currently ranks seventh at the position in annual average value ($19.4 million) and 10th in fully guaranteed money ($33.3 million).
Still, that is a lot of money tied to a player that will have undergone two major surgeries to the same knee in a little over a year.
Hopefully this is a minor setback in Diggs’ career and he’s ready to roll in Week 1 next season, but Cowboys fans should brace for a lot of talk this offseason about his future and potential outs in his contract … especially with DaRon Bland becoming extension-eligible soon.
