It remains to be seen if Trevon Diggs will suit up when the Dallas Cowboys face the Detroit Lions on Thursday Night Football. The Cowboys, who have opened Diggs' practice window, are pleased with Diggs' progress as he returns from a concussion and knee soreness.
Diggs has practiced each of the last three days, and Jerry Jones told 105.3 The Fan he’s optimistic the cornerback will play. Still, it seems the final call won’t come until after Wednesday’s practice. If Diggs suits up, the Cowboys will need to add him to the active roster, which means a corresponding move will also be required.
As Diggs ramps up, there’s been some chatter in Cowboys circles about moving him to safety, given his early-season struggles. Schottenheimer was asked about that on Tuesday and shot the idea down almost immediately.
"I wouldn't even think of that," Schotteheimer said.
Cowboys are not thinking about playing Trevon Diggs at safety
It’s fun to imagine Diggs playing safety, but the secondary has finally cleaned up the blown coverages and communication breakdowns. That stability, paired with Quinnen Williams’ monstrous impact, is a big reason the defense has played at a functional level over the last three weeks.
Experimenting with Diggs at safety would be asking to vaporize that progress. While Diggs is a former interception champ and a true ball-hawk, he doesn't play with the physicality required to play safety.
Malik Hooker and Donovan Wilson often leave games with the biggest hits of any Cowboys defenders. They get downhill and rally to the football to bring down ball-carriers. That isn't exactly Diggs' forte.
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Furthermore, Matt Eberflus has called a lot more man coverage post-trade deadline -- a byproduct of the new five-man fronts Dallas has run since Williams' arrival. What sense would it make to convert Diggs to safety now that Eberflus is finally doing what the two-time Pro Bowler wanted?
Diggs was critical of Eberflus before his injury for calling a zone-heavy defense. It is clear now that Eberflus didn't trust his pass rush or the Cowboys' other healthy CBs to play man. It's important to remember that Kaiir Elam and Trikweze Bridges had a significant snap share early in the season.
The returns of Caelan Carson, Shavon Revel, and DaRon Bland, who missed two games with a foot injury, have played a big part in Eberlfus diversifying his coverage.
At the end of the day, Diggs is a former All-Pro in the league. He's made his bones as a cornerback. Now that he finally has a clean bill of health, it only makes sense to put him back at CB. If he struggles, the Cowboys now have the requisite reinforcements to survive if he's benched.
Again, it's fun to think about how Diggs' skill set could translate to safety, but the time for experiments was when the defense couldn't stop a nosebleed, not while it's playing its best ball of the season.