FRISCO — Trevon Diggs has a goal of returning from left knee surgery sooner than expected.
The Cowboys cornerback is currently doing rehab work at The Star and in Florida as he’s recovering from surgery for a chondral tissue graft that replaced damaged cartilage in ts with tissue.
“I want to be back for the first game,” Diggs said after Wednesday’s mandatory minicamp practice.
That first game is Sept. 4 at Philadelphia.
Diggs is used to proving people wrong.
In September 2023, he tore the ACL in his left knee and was expected to return in October 2024. Diggs played in the 2024 season opener.
Diggs said he was early — not late, not on time, but early —in his return to the field. This time it’s different.
The surgery is considered more serious than the ACL surgery. Diggs said his rehab work is easier this time. He said he doesn’t have soreness or swelling in the knee and feels he can play now.
All he’s allowed to do is rehab, which has become a point of contention within the Cowboys organization. Yes, Diggs is working out with his trainers, not consistently with the Cowboys’ training staff.
Team owner Jerry Jones intimated Diggs’ knee injury in 2024 could be a direct result of questionable rehab habits recovering from the torn ACL.
Diggs said the injury he suffered last season has nothing to do with the 2023 injury. When it comes to why he’s not working out with the team medical staff regularly, he feels comfortable with his people.
He stressed Myron Flowers, a performance and fitness coach, is someone who has known him and his brother, NFL wideout Stefon Diggs, since they were teenagers. It’s Flowers that’s assigned by Diggs to get him through rehab these last two years.
Yet, Diggs’ absences from offseason workouts might cost him. If he works out less than 84% of the time at The Star, which is now the case, he could lose $500,000 of his $9 million base salary. Team officials haven’t decided if they plan to reduce his salary.
Based on how relaxed Diggs was in the locker room on Wednesday during a spirited pingpong match between Micah Parsons and Jay Toia, it didn’t seem anything was bothering him.
However, things bother him.
This offseason, he mentioned the perception he’s not working out hard forced him to release a documentary on YouTube called “Seven,” after his jersey number. It shows Diggs’ rehab work from a torn ACL last year. He plans to release another type of documentary this year about rehab work in 2025.
Diggs said he would rather let his play speak for him more than anything else. Last year, he confronted a reporter following a loss at San Francisco because of criticism. Diggs later apologized for the incident. In some ways, you forget just how good Diggs is.
He led the NFL with 11 interceptions in 2021, which included a pair of pick-sixes. He earned Pro Bowl selections in 2021 and 2022 and was an All-Pro pick in 2021.
But there are questions about whether he plays with a physicality, especially in the open field. His health has also taken control of the conversation more than what he can do on the field.
During Diggs’ rehab work, away from the team, Parsons reached out to see if he was OK. He visited him in Florida and Diggs wrote Parsons a note thanking him for the .
Parsons told him he can become the Comeback Player of the Year in 2025.
“He don’t really show a lot of emotion,” Parsons said. “It’s hard to get more than a couple of words out of him so just to get that message out meant a lot to me just as a friend. I’m happy that he’s in a bright spot. He’s doing better and I just hope he has the year that he wants to. I’m telling him you got to put it into overdrive now. No more excuses.”
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