Trevon Diggs pulled from starting lineup for Dallas Cowboys against Packers
As the Dallas Cowboys get All-Pro cornerback DaRon Bland back from injury against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night, they will put him into the starting lineup in place of another All-Pro.
Cornerback Trevon Diggs will not begin the game on the field, per the Cowboys’ sideline reporter Kristi Scales.
Diggs will still get snaps Sunday night, but it will be more of a rotational role for the sixth-year, two-time Pro Bowler.
After making his way back from a complex offseason knee surgery in time to be on the field for Week 1 against the Philadelphia Eagles, Diggs’ snap count was forced into becoming full-time after a rotational role to start the year because of Bland’s injury. Now with Bland healthy, he will resort back to a similar role he was in to start the season.
Kaiir Elam and Reddy Steward will start at cornerback alongside Bland. Steward has started the past two games at slot corner in place of Bland and has performed well. As a reward, he will remain in the lineup and Bland will instead move to the outside, where he hauled in an NFL-leading nine interceptions in the 2023 season.
Head coach Brian Schottenheimer had mentioned in press conferences throughout the week that defensive changes were coming after a two-week stretch that led to the Cowboys being in last place in passing yards allowed per game across the NFL entering Week 4.
This change joins rookie linebacker Shemar James making his NFL debut in place of Damone Clark, who will resort to the inactive list.
Diggs has been battling multiple injuries early in the season, as he was listed on each of the past two weeks’ injury reports with a knee injury. He has also mentioned to reporters that he’s been dealing with a hamstring issue as well. This comes after he has missed 22 games over the past two seasons with a pair of knee injuries.
The move is not expected to be permanent, as he will be able to rotate into the secondary in the coming games as a way to get back to full game speed.
In his 61 games over six seasons, Diggs has accounted for 20 interceptions, 63 pass breakups and 222 tackles. He signed a five-year, $97 million extension in August 2023 that has him tied to the team’s payroll through the 2028 season.
This story was originally published September 28, 2025 at 6:48 PM.
