The Cowboys were not completely out of line when they invested heavily in Trevon Diggs back in the summer of 2023, granting him a five-year, $97 million contract that made him one of the league’s highest paid defensive backs.  Diggs had been a Pro Bowler the previous two seasons, and an All-Pro in 2021, when he led the NFL with 11 interceptions.

But Diggs tore his ACL just two games into the new contract, and has not been the same player since. Diggs has played just 21 games in three years, and when he has played, he has been among the worst corners in the league. This year, he is allowing a passer rating, when he is targeted by opposing quarterbacks, of 157.2, according to Pro Football Reference.

A perfect passer rating is 158.3.

The good news about Diggs’ situation for the Cowboys, though, is that there is an escape hatch in his contract, and it is just weeks away now. The Cowboys only guaranteed $42 million of Diggs’ contract, so they can waive him by the middle of March and be done with him. And that’s certain to happen.

Trevon Diggs Can Expect a ‘Quick Release and a Quick Turnover’

At the contract-expert website Spotrac, Diggs is tabbed as a “bubble” candidate for the Cowboys’ 2026 roster, though there is not much bubble there. Jerry Jones needs cap space for the roster this offseason, and Diggs is an easy starting point.

The site’s managing editor, Mike Ginnitti, explained on “The Spotrac Podcast” this week: “Trevon Diggs signed a nice contract a few years ago, but he has been injured each of the past three seasons, he’s been almost a zero productivity-wise over that span and he has earned $42 million for his time. So, it just hasn’t worked. You can like the kind of player that he is—he is a takeaway demon when he is healthy—and maybe there a world where he gets back to that form. But Dallas cannot keep him in this contract. They need the cap space, they need the flexibility right now.

“They can free up $12.5 million just to move on in March. That’s happening. There’s no more guaranteed money on this contract, so expect that to be a quick release and a quick turnover there.”

Cowboys Could Get a Clean Break From Trevon Diggs

That would represent a clean break for the Cowboys and given what they’ve gotten from Diggs, an easy choice. Diggs has only played eight games this season, having first suffered a concussion, then dealing with an injury in his right knee–the opposite from the one in which he tore an ACL.

The difficult part after letting Diggs go is, who do you use to replace him? Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has said that he expected the team’s secondary to be a strength this year, but Diggs’ struggles and the continued injuries and struggles of DaRon Bland (now out with a foot injury), the future of the unit’s lead players is very much in question.

Cowboys Young Defensive Backs Have Struggled

And the young players they’ve brought in have struggled badly. Rookie Shavon Revel will get more leeway after the team used a third-round pick on him, but so far, he is graded as the No. 111 out of 111 corners in the league at Pro Football Focus. Second-year players Caelen Carson and Reddy Stewart haven’t necessarily claimed their spots, either.

The Cowboys need front-line help at cornerback, and they need depth. Diggs will go, but there will be a hole in his place.