GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) – Trevon Diggs was claimed by the Green Bay Packers on Wednesday, a day after the Dallas Cowboys waived the 2021 All-Pro cornerback.
This move enables Green Bay to boost its injury-riddled secondary by taking a chance on a two-time Pro Bowl selection seeking a career reset.
Diggs had an NFL-leading 11 interceptions and earned All-Pro honors with Dallas in 2021. He earned a second Pro Bowl selection the following year.
But his production dipped from there as he dealt with two major knee surgeries.
Diggs played six games this season before sustaining a concussion in an accident at home on Oct. 16. Diggs didn´t explain the cause of the injury to reporters until two months later, when he said he got hit in the head by a mounting pole while trying to install a TV.
Even after Diggs returned from concussion protocol, he remained off the field and ended up missing eight games. The Cowboys attributed his delayed return to issues regarding his knees.
After Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland suffered a season-ending foot injury, Diggs returned to action and played against the Los Angeles Chargers and Washington Commanders.
Though Dallas coach Brian Schottenheimer reiterated that Diggs’ departure was a culmination of issues and not triggered by one incident, the move came five days after he didn’t return from Washington with the team.
The Cowboys played the Commanders on Christmas and had three days off after that Thursday meeting. Schottenheimer said other players asked to make their own travel arrangements going home and were told no. The coach said Diggs didn’t ask until the team was in the locker room after the 30-23 victory.
“It was one of many factors. It was not the only factor,” said Schottenheimer, who briefly benched Diggs during the six games he played to start the season after the team withheld an offseason workout bonus because Diggs went through rehab on knee surgery with his own training staff away from the facility.
“I´m not the Grinch that stole Christmas, OK? I love Christmas. I love my family. But at the end of the day, we got a protocol we go through, and the process was not followed.”
Schottenheimer disagreed with the suggestion that he never connected with Diggs in his first season as a head coach after a quarter-century as an NFL assistant. The son of the late NFL coach Marty Schottenheimer takes pride in his relationships with players.
“Believe me, I don´t make these (decisions) casually,” Schottenheimer said. “We didn´t sit down and say, `Hey, Trevon didn´t take the plane.´ No, it wasn´t that. It was a culmination of multiple factors. And hey, this might be great for Trevon. Go find a permanent home. That´s my hope for him is that he does that.”
Green Bay needed a boost at cornerback after placing Kamal Hadden (ankle) and Nate Hobbs (knee) on injured reserve this week. Both players were knocked out of the Packers´ 41-24 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday.
The Packers did sign cornerbacks Shemar Bartholomew and Jaylin Simpson from their practice squad to their active roster on Tuesday.
Heading to Green Bay reunites Diggs with injured Packers defensive end Micah Parsons, who was acquired from Dallas just before the start of the season. Parsons and Diggs are good friends who exchanged jerseys after the Packers’ 40-all tie with the Cowboys earlier this season.
Green Bay (9-6-1) carries a three-game skid into its regular-season finale Sunday at Minnesota. The Packers have clinched a playoff berth as the NFC´s No. 7 seed.
