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Cowboys reduce Trevon Diggs’ salary for not working out enough with the team – Calvin Watkins, DMN
The Cowboys and Trevon Diggs are still not on the same page.
When Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs reports to training camp Sunday, he’ll do so without $500,000 of his salary.
Team officials will deduct $500,000 from Diggs’ $9 million base salary for his failure to complete at least 84% of his offseason workouts, a person with knowledge of Diggs’ contract told The Dallas Morning News. Diggs’ agent did not respond when asked for comment about the salary deduction.
Club officials had the option of not enforcing the clause in the contract. Some players have workout clauses in their contracts as a bonus for attending a certain percentage of sessions, or a penalty for not doing so.
Instead of doing a majority of his rehab work at The Star with team medical officials, he elected to do it away from the facility. Diggs has not told the media what his issues are with the team’s medical staff.
Diggs attended the mandatory veteran minicamp in June and was examined by team doctors this offseason. Last month, Diggs said he’s doing well in rehab work and has a goal of playing in the first Cowboys’ regular season game Sept. 4 at Philadelphia. Diggs most likely will start training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list. The Cowboys have their first practice on Tuesday, July 22.
2) Can Dak return to his MVP-caliber form? – Staff, DallasCowboys.com
This is the huge question the Cowboys are facing.
Nick: I’ve always thought Dak and Romo are comparable players. Maybe not in their style, but definitely in the way the career has panned out. And when I think about the year Romo finished third in the MVP voting, he had DeMarco Murray rushed for 1,800 yards to win Offensive Player of the Year. Dez Bryant had over 1,300 receiving yards and led the NFL with 16 touchdown catches. My point is that if you have the help, the credit will go to the QB. So yes, Dak can return to form, if and only if he’s got some major help aound him. If two or more skill players make the Pro Bowl, then yes he will get in that discussion. That means CeeDee and maybe a big year from Ferguson, Pickens or a running back.
Kurt: The Cowboys sure need him to. They went all-in on Prescott last year with his contract extension and now desperately need him to be successful going forward if they hope to 1) get any return on their investment, and 2) make a lengthy playoff run. As Prescott goes, so goes this team. With that said, yes, I do think he can get back into the same MVP conversation he found himself in during the 2023 season. He’s no longer a true dual-threat quarterback, given past injuries, but he still has the overall physical skills and intangibles needed to play the position well. And with a more innovative offense from Brian Schottenheimer, CeeDee Lamb and Jake Ferguson back at full strength, an improving offensive line and, of course, the arrival of George Pickens, Prescott should also have the supporting cast to help him bring home the MVP hardware. Let’s hope he can.
Previewing the top storylines for 2025 NFL training camps – Ben Solak, ESPN
Everyone will be watching the running back battle at camp.
Cowboys running back
What, precisely, are the Cowboys up to at running back? It’s unclear. After producing a 1,000-yard season, Rico Dowdle left in free agency for a mere one-year, $2.75 million deal with the Panthers. Dallas gave more to former Bronco Javonte Williams, who hasn’t looked explosive since a major knee injury in 2022. The team also signed Miles Sanders to a one-year deal and drafted Jaydon Blue out of Texas in the fifth round.
This is a worryingly weak room. The ideal outcome is that Williams suddenly returns to his pre-injury form, though it’s worth remarking that even his career-best season (2021, rookie year) was only 4.4 yards per attempt and a 46.3% success rate. But Blue is a speedy change-of-pace back, so steady production from Williams — an excellent pass catcher — could be complemented by some big Blue plays. That is still two big “ifs” just to get to a functional committee. Lotta squeeze for not a lotta juice.
This camp battle is one to watch less for the touch distribution — all three backs will inevitably get usage this season — and more for the overall quality. The Cowboys feel like a prime candidate for a running back trade acquisition, especially if their rushing game lags again behind an improved passing game with George Pickens at receiver. Which brings us to our other backfield to watch.
Cowboys season outlook: Dak Prescott is healthy, but is that enough for Dallas to rebound from forgetful 2024? – Zachary Pereles, CBS Sports
A detailed breakdown of the Cowboys offense and how it might look under Brian Schottenheimer.
Running through the unsightly film of Prscott’s picks, I noticed all eight came on straight dropbacks, rather than play action. Last year, Prescott had a 16.9% play action rate, not only a career low but the fourth-lowest mark in the league behind Caleb Williams (who was poorly coached), Cooper Rush (Prescott’s backup) and Kirk Cousins (who could hardly move months removed from a ruptured Achilles).
Prescott was also in shotgun a career-high 74% of the time, and when he was in shotgun, the Cowboys threw the ball 76% of the time, which would have been the fourth-highest rate in the NFL. Overall, Dallas had the second-highest passing rate in the first half of 2024. It was 21st from 2021-23.
If the past is any indication, Schottenheimer wants to bring that 2024 number way down. In his three-year stint as Seahawks offensive coordinator, only the Titans and Ravens had a lower passing frequency. Some of that was Russell Wilson scrambling, of course, but Chris Carson emerged from seventh-round pick to standout under Schottenheimer, averaging nearly 1,200 rushing yards across 2018 and 2019.
Schottenheimer inherits, on paper, a similarly underwhelming backfield this season in Dallas. Offseason additions Javonte Williams (3.6) and Miles Sanders (3.5) have been two of the worst running backs in the NFL over the past two seasons, ranking 46th and 48th, respectively in yards per carry among 50 qualifying rushers. The team drafted Jaydon Blue in the fifth round, and he’s a major talent, but he had four fumbles last year and is a bit undersized. We’ll see how much work he gets. Dallas needs his explosiveness desperately after ranking 29th in explosive rush rate last year.
The Cowboys didn’t acquire Pickens to lean into a running game headed by an uncertain trio, though. Part of Prescott’s turnover issues were his receivers’ inability to get open. ESPN’s receiver scores graded 116 wide receivers. One Cowboy — Lamb at 13th — was the only one in the top half in “open” score. KaVontae Turpin was 75th, Brandin Cooks 80th, Jalen Brooks 89th, Jalen Tolbert 93rd and Jonathan Mingo (whom the Cowboys traded a fourth-round pick for!) 115th.
