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USATSI

FRISCO, Texas -- The murkiness surrounding Pro Bowl cornerback Trevon Diggs (knee) and the Dallas Cowboys amid his extended injured reserve stint is beginning to clear. 

He spoke to the media for the first time in weeks, and the 2021 NFL interceptions leader said he is ready to play and expects to play on "Sunday Night Football" against the Minnesota Vikings. Dallas officially lists Diggs as questionable to play on Sunday after being limited in practice all week. 

"I'm ready though," Diggs said. "I think our intensity level to make this playoff push and play for each other [led to a great week of practice]. ... "I feel really healthy. I feel really healthy this time around, so I'm just going to go out there, give it 100% that I can and we'll see what happens."

Dallas ruled Diggs out the Friday before Week 7 against the Washington Commanders after the cornerback suffered a concussion in an accident at his home. When Diggs was in concussion protocol, the Cowboys placed him on injured reserve because of his knee being reaggravated, and he hasn't played since, missing the last seven games. 

The team opened Diggs' 21-day practice window to work his way back to a return from injured reserve on Nov. 30, and he has until Dec. 20 at 4 p.m., the day before the Cowboys' Week 16 home finale against the Chargers, to be activated. Otherwise, Diggs would remain on IR and not return to play this season. His situation began to take an intriguing turn with the team not activating him from IR last week or indicating throughout the direction of this week that Diggs would be ready to play. For the last two weeks, he has looked as spry as another Cowboys cornerback in the media viewing portion of practice. Diggs playfully chased a teammate across Dallas' locker room after a practice this week with plenty of speed. 

"It's hard, it's definitely been hard," Diggs said when talking about his extended absence. "People feel how how they feel. You just got to roll with the punches and keep pushing forward."

Head coach Brian Schottenheimer's Friday comments on Diggs' situation were the most upbeat they've been across the last few weeks. "Consistency" and doing "everything the right way" have been Diggs' prescribed keys to return to action the last two weeks. 

"Doing well, having a good week. We'll see how today goes, and again excited to see how he finishes the week," Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said before practice on Friday. ... "Well number one, I don't just talk about that [consistency] with Trevon. I talk about the word consistency in a lot of things. It's my favorite word that I use with you guys. Why? Because to sustain success and win in this league, you need to be consistent. So, it just means doing things right all the time, and that's everybody. It's not just about Trevon."

The 27-year-old began fully trusting his knee as recently as last week, but given the emphasis on consistency from Schottenheimer, defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus and the rest of the coaching staff, he understood why he didn't get activated for Week 14 at the Detroit Lions. 

"Last week. Yeah, last week I felt good to play. I didn't get a lot of practice though, so that could also be the issue," Diggs said. "I feel like I got a lot of reps in this week and a lot of practice in. It's going to be a good week."

Quarterback Dak Prescott served as the conduit between Diggs and the coaching staff at times, providing him both words of encouragement and direct feedback from the coaches about what they would like to see from him in order to return to the active roster.  

"I would say my role that's come in is more of just being optimistic, being the motivator in that sense. Knowing what he's been going through, knowing how much he wants to play and thinking that he may have been called up or got back last week and then didn't, for whatever the reason," Prescott said Thursday. "Just being able to talk to him, being a sounding board and honestly giving him real, honest feedback. Not just what he wants to hear, but probably 'this is what the coaches are thinking, this is what you've presented, this is what you've given them and this is the best way that I can see it.' He's growing. He's growing each and every day in every aspect of it. Excited for him just to continue to get healthy and get back to the guy that he's confident in being and going and making those plays."

Diggs' change of direction and reintegration into a defense with a number of different players -- linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, third-round rookie cornerback Shavon Revel, All-Pro defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and linebacker Logan Wilson -- factored into his prolonged layoff.   

"I think the other thing to realize is the ramp up portion of this is real. You don't play football for four weeks, you don't forget how to play, but you also haven't moved and had to change direction," Schottenheimer said. "The thing that's so crazy about our sport, you guys know this, it's not just you. It's the working alongside 10 other guys, and there's calls and communication. Things that have to be better. Once we feel like that's where we're at, then certainly we know what kind of player Trevon can be."

When Diggs went down entering Week 7, the Cowboys were averaging 30.7 points per game, the second-most in the NFL at the time. Since Dallas acquired Williams and Wilson at the trade deadline and activated both Overshown and Revel off of IR in Week 11, the Cowboys are averaging 27.3 points per game, ranking 27th in the league in that span. Perhaps the biggest change that's come in that span is Dallas' run defense: they were allowing 142.2 rushing yards per game through the first six weeks of the season, and they are allowing just 79.5 rushing yards per game since Week 11, the second-lowest mark in the league. 

"Yeah, really good. Everything's been looking like it's coming together really well, how it's supposed to," Diggs said of how the defense has looked of late. "Momentum is going really well, flowing how it's supposed to. Momentum is going really well."

Returning to the football field with his Cowboys teammates served as the main driver of motivation for Diggs to become healthy enough to play again in 2025. 

"Just being able to go back out there with my brothers. Being able to play with those guys," Diggs said. "Run around, fly around, hit people, take the ball away. Just doing everything together as a team. I feel that's the most fun part that I've missed. Just, I miss that truly."

He acknowledged these last four games of the regular season are "very important" for the 6-6-1 Cowboys' dwindling playoff hopes, which currently sit at 11.9% according to CBS' SportsLine model. He "of course" wants to aid Dallas' playoff push. 

The stretch run of the season could also heavily color his reputation not only in the Cowboys' organization but throughout the rest of the NFL, which could potentially matter if Dallas decides to part ways with him in the offseason. If the Cowboys opted for an offseason divorce, Dallas would save around $12.6 million in cap space if he is released before June 1 in 2026. A post-June 1 release would free up $15.5 million. Diggs' $19.4 million average per year salary on his five-year, $97 million contract is tied for the 10th-highest at the cornerback position, according to OverTheCap.com. Diggs has missed 28 games since 2023 because of knee injuries, including a torn ACL in practice in 2023. However, he isn't currently sweating the future. 

"No, not really because I know who I am. I know what I'm capable of. I'm not having a crisis of not knowing. I know how to play football. I know what skillset I have, so it's just all about showing it, putting it out there and making the plays that I always make. 

If it's up to Diggs, he would like to remain a Cowboy for the foreseeable future. Weeks 15-18 will certainly be quite illuminating for a player whose 20 career interceptions since entering the league as a second-round pick in 2020 are tied for the second-most in the NFL.

"Yeah, of course. I love Dallas. But, you know, at the end of the day, it's a business. Whatever happens, happens. I'm prepared, I'm ready for it. I would love to be here. I love everything that comes with Dallas, the fans, the relationships I've built here. But if that's not what it is, that's just not what it is."