We are only a month away from the NFL trade deadline, which means that the rumor mill has already begun to work overtime. Players who are seemingly unhappy with their situation or those who are underperforming will be assumed to be on the trade block, and teams who are not meeting expectations will feel the pressure to either be buyers or sellers at the deadline.
The Dallas Cowboys, sitting at 1-2-1 after four weeks, can go in either direction. Depending on how the next four games play out, the Cowboys could trade another star defender during the season, and it would be a name that could surprise fans across the league.
Cowboys Should Seriously Consider a Trevon Diggs Trade if Defense Doesn't Improve
Trevon Diggs is off to a fascinating start in Dallas. He was benched against the Packers, only for the second time in his entire career, but made a crucial defensive play late in the game and arguably turned in his best game of the season. It was later revealed that Diggs didn't start in Week 4 "because of an off-the-field issue", but he reportedly expects to be back in the starting lineup going forward, per Cowboys insider Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
While we don't know the details of the off-the-field issue, this is not the first time Diggs has made headlines away from the football field. An outspoken player, Diggs has never been afraid to make his feelings known on or off the field, leading to controversies throughout his career. He has largely backed this up with his play on the gridiron, but in recent years, his injuries have taken a toll on him, reducing his impact. Once one of the premier ballhawks in the NFL, Diggs has had a tepid last several years, after tearing his ACL two weeks into the 2023 season.
At some point, the Cowboys can conclude that the juice is not worth the squeeze anymore with Diggs. After finishing with a defensive grade of 56.6 from Pro Football Focus last season, the 28-year-old owns a grade of 62.3 through four weeks this season, placing him firmly in the middle of all eligible corners. He has only two interceptions and four pass breakups in the 15 games he played since the start of the 2024 campaign. The Cowboys' secondary has been a complete mess, and Diggs hasn't been able to help them stabilize things.
For a player who signed a five-year, $97 million contract in July 2023 and has a $12 million cap hit for this season, that is not good enough. The two-time Pro Bowler is under contract until the end of the 2028 campaign, and moving on from him would save Dallas a ton of money moving forward. And we know how much Jerry Jones likes cap savings.
If the Cowboys' defense doesn't improve and the team isn't looking like a playoff team in the next few weeks, Jones must seriously consider trading Diggs. He may think of it as too big a risk after moving on from Micah Parsons, but if the Cowboys aren't anywhere near .500 or above, it would be organizational malpractice not to trade him.