Schottenheimer's cryptic remarks fuel speculation about Trevon Diggs' future, as an unusual injury and inconsistent play raise concerns.
Optimism is building for the Dallas Cowboys. After winning two out of three games and with struggling opponents in Week 9 (the Arizona Cardinals) and Week 11 (the Las Vegas Raiders) with a Week 10 bye mixed in, there’s a real possibility for a 6-3-1 start if they can beat the Denver Broncos this Sunday.
With that said, they’re still the Cowboys, and therefore nothing good can come without a dose of intrigue and distraction, no matter how slight it may be. Leading up to Week 7, that came courtesy of a sudden and poorly explained concussion suffered by Trevon Diggs at his home.
This week, we got an update from Brian Schottenheimer on Diggs courtesy of Todd Archer of ESPN.
That quote is, to put it mildly, something. Situations like this are always hard to judge, and speculation is unsavory and is therefore something we won’t engage in.
But, it is not speculation to say that this situation is, at the very least, odd. Concussions are of course a scary injury and not something to take lightly, but the lack of information surrounding the injury is eyebrow raising.
Equally head turning is the last part of the comments where Schotty says that they’ll let Diggs comment first. Typically, teams make the first comments on injuries as a sort of shield for the player and to control the narrative. The fact that Dallas isn’t doing so is unusual.
From an on-the-field perspective, it seems safe to say that Diggs won’t suit up this week if IR placement is being considered. However, this situation isn’t as damaging to the defense as many may think.
He’s been incredibly inconsistent this year, posting three PFF coverage grades below 50 and three above 65, including a 91.4 mark in Week 4 against the Green Bay Packers. Overall, his season-long grade in that area is a solid 62.5.
While that final grade is abhorrent, the wide variance in week-to-week performance has made him difficult to rely on even when he can play. Now that this concussion situation has emerged, the on-the-field play is becoming harder and harder to ignore.
And that’s the rub at the end of the day. We all know that teams are willing to turn the other way for all sorts of off-the-field issues as long as the on-field production warrants it. But now that Diggs’ play is starting to slip, the questions about his future with the team are becoming more and more prominent as more and more questions arise about what exactly happened before Week 7.