Cowboys’ Trevon Diggs weighs in on ‘unfortunate’ pay de-escalation

An offseason of slight change for the Dallas Cowboys has led to a renewed faith in the heightened expectations of owner Jerry Jones. New head coach Brian Schottenheimer (promoted from offensive coordinator) is familiar with the players, including the veteran leadership. One of those veteran leaders is cornerback Trevon Diggs. The former Alabama Crimson Tide standout spoke about his “unfortunate” pay de-escalation to NFL reporter Jane Slater, who posted the exchange on X (formerly Twitter).

“My post practice interview with Micah Parsons and Trevon Diggs. How they felt about the owner’s comments and whether they want to be in Dallas #Cowboys,” posted Slater on the social media platform.

Diggs' comments on the pay decrease come after Jones spoke about it earlier. Diggs lost $500,000 in base salary because he didn't rehab enough at the team facility this past offseason. His contract mandated a certain number of dates that the cornerback didn't fulfill. For now, it's just another contract question that wasn't solved quietly. After a number of contract questions and disputes over the past few seasons, is it time for Jones and the Cowboys' brass to start hammering out important matters like this earlier?

Cowboys, Jerry Jones need to focus on retaining top players

By taking care of these types of matters earlier, then Dallas wouldn't have to spend as much money as they have in the recent past. If Jones had stayed ahead of the curb on recent extensions for players like quarterback Dak Prescott and receiver CeeDee Lamb, then perhaps the negotiations wouldn't have been so extensive. Now, with this Diggs de-escalation of pay, it's yet another question as to why the Cowboys didn't solve this earlier.

At the moment, the biggest contract questions out there is Micah Parsons. The Cowboys' hybrid defender is truly a gamebreaker, one of the absolute best defenders in the NFL today. It's truly a wonder why Jones and Parsons' team haven't been able to hammer out a long-term deal. Right now, this is the last season of Parsons' current deal. He's scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent next spring. If Parsons reaches the open market, that could spell the end of his time in Dallas. If he gets away, will Jones ever live it down?