FRISCO, Texas – In a year marked by injury, the hits keep coming.
Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones confirmed Tuesday morning that rookie cornerback Trevon Diggs fractured a bone in his foot during Sunday's loss to Pittsburgh.
Jones could not confirm the timeline for return, but multiple reports indicate Diggs is projected to miss four-to-six weeks. With seven weeks remaining in the season, that could mean he is done for the season, depending on the timing.
"I don't know the prognosis in terms of long he'll be out. I do know that he's got the issue with his foot – again, I do not know the ultimate length of time that he'll be out," Jones said Tuesday on 105.3 FM The Fan.
It's a tough blow for Diggs, who has been a rare bright spot for the Dallas defense. Named a starter coming out of training camp, the rookie has been one of the few constants in an injury-plagued secondary. He currently ranks third on the team with 47 tackles, and he leads the defense with two interceptions and 10 pass breakups.
Jones noted that it was obvious something was wrong in the fourth quarter against the Steelers, when Ben Roethlisberger was able to take advantage of the Dallas secondary.
"We all were wondering, when we had Pittsburgh on their own goal line … how in the world we weren't up there with Diggs on top of those receivers and letting them have that gift to the outside for about three straight," he said.
It hasn't always been perfect for Diggs, who the Cowboys managed to select midway through the second round the 2020 NFL Draft with the 51st overall pick. Opposing quarterbacks have picked on him at times this season, but the rookie has always managed to respond to the adversity. In Week 3 he saved a 62-yard touchdown against Seattle receiver D.K. Metcalf by punching the ball out of Metcalf's hands and through the back of the end zone, and in Week 8 he enjoyed a breakout performance when he managed to pick off Carson Wentz twice in the same game.
Diggs is just the latest casualty for a secondary that has had bad luck all season. Chidobe Awuzie is working on a return from a hamstring injury, but the veteran starter has missed seven weeks to this point. Anthony Brown missed three weeks with a rib injury at the start of the season, while Jourdan Lewis also missed the season opener with an ankle injury.
That's obviously just the secondary. Diggs is just another name on the long list of key players to spend time on injured reserve this season, along with Dak Prescott, Tyron Smith, La'el Collins, Blake Jarwin, Cam Erving, Joe Looney, Leighton Vander Esch, Sean Lee, Awuzie and Brown.
