Free agent CB Trevon Diggs works out for Lions

Perhaps they’re looking for shorter-term help than Terrion Arnold is able to give them now that he’ll be on the commissioner’s exempt list if signed. Diggs worked out with the Lions earlier in August. He’s looking to find a new team after hitting free agency for the first time this offseason following a tumultuous ending with the Cowboys.

A late-season cut by Dallas, the Packers added Diggs to the roster on New Year’s Eve. He played 33 defensive snaps in Week 18’s loss to the Vikings (started by Clayton Tune) and one snap in their loss to the Bears in the NFC Wild Card round. Diggs is entering his age-28 season and seems likely to be a stopgap option for some team in free agency.

Already locked in as the No. 7 seed, the Packers are resting some of their starters this week. Diggs, however, joined the team just four days ago. A few reps today will go a long way in getting him familiar with Green Bay’s defense.

Diggs was cut by the Cowboys yesterday. He has dealt with injuries and declining play in recent years. A rift eventually developed between Diggs and the Cowboys. With the year nearly over, Dallas decided to cut ties with him early, letting both sides go their separate ways. Diggs now gets a chance to prove himself on a playoff-bound Packers squad. With Green Bay resting some of their starters this week, Diggs will get some extra time to learn the defense before the Wild Card Round.

Diggs was regarded as one of the better corners in the NFL a few years ago, but has played just 1,208 defensive snaps over the last three years while dealing with injuries. The Cowboys have seemed disinterested in employing Diggs for some time, and the only surprise is that the move happened now instead of this offseason. Diggs’ contract is out of guaranteed money after this year, so it’s possible he is claimed on waivers. Former DC Dan Quinn is in Washington, which is one possible landing spot. It’s also possible that he gets a shot with a playoff team, though it might be a little late to crack anyone’s rotation for the Wild Card round at this point.

The team also placed fellow cornerback DaRon Bland (foot) on injured reserve in an associated move. As has been the case for most of the season, the Cowboys continue forward without pieces from their secondary. Diggs pushed his return up to the limit, meaning we might not see him play a full allotment of snaps in his first game in over two months.

This report comes on the heels of Diggs himself telling reporters earlier this week that he was healthy. The 27-year-old cornerback seemed miffed about not being activated from injured reserve earlier. If Diggs isn’t activated Saturday, he’ll be ineligible to return at all this year. While Rapoport reports an activation is likely, the final decision will come Saturday afternoon.

ESPN’s Todd Archer chronicles what has been a weird season of deactivations and inactive list placements for Diggs, who has refused to discuss his mid-season concussion that was caused by an accident other than to say “Accidents happen all the time.” The Cowboys will need to activate Diggs by next Saturday or he’ll be lost for the rest of the season. From the outside, it sure looks like the team is making sure Diggs doesn’t have activate any of his 2026 salary that is guaranteed for injury. And with Dallas’ season all but over, it wouldn’t seem like there’s a reason to put Diggs out there if they’re worried about his 2026 salary.

Guyton went down with a high-ankle sprain in Week 12 and missed the following game on Thanksgiving. Nathan Thomas will continue to start at left tackle this week. Though he will be a clear weak point for the Cowboys, that shouldn’t stop their offensive machine from rolling versus Detroit. Trevon Diggs was not activated from injured reserve and is also out.

We would like to assume the owner of the Cowboys has a pretty good sense of the health of his players, but we’ll take this with a grain of salt. Diggs was placed on injured reserve after suffering an accident at home late last month and has missed the team’s last six games. The Cowboys have yet to open Diggs’ 21-day return window, which they will need to do if they hope to get him on the practice field this week. With Dallas playing on Thursday in Week 14, the team will need to designate him for a return early in the week.