The NFL just made it easy on the Cowboys to fix one of their biggest problems days after trade deadline
The Dallas Cowboys should target newly available safety Quandre Diggs.
Sometimes, you have to trade a first and second-round draft pick to improve your roster. That’s what the Dallas Cowboys did to land All-Pro defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, and they sent their own DT Mazi Smith, too.
Others, it takes a seventh-rounder, which is what they gave up for linebacker Logan Wilson.
But for others, it’s as easy as putting in a waiver claim. That’s what the Cowboys need to do to get an upgrade on defense, following the Tennessee Titans’ decision to release safety Quandre Diggs.
Diggs, a three-year Pro Bowler, started earlier in the year but got demoted by the coaching staff as the Titans set their eyes on the future. This offseason, Tennessee invested a third-rounder in rookie Kevin Winston Jr. At 1-8, why not give the reps to him over Diggs?
For the Cowboys, Diggs’ availability comes at a perfect time. They’re 3-5-1 at the bye week, and with little hopes of making it to the postseason, they’d be smart to limit their investments. Putting in a waiver claim for Diggs would be a reasonable value.
Dallas would be on the hook for an inexpensive one-year deal, while getting an upgrade in a banged-up unit. Starter Malik Hooker remains on Injured Reserve, and Donovan Wilson has missed consecutive games.
Due to NFL rules, vested veterans are subject to the waiver wire once the trade deadline is in the rearview mirror. In other words, the Cowboys don’t even have to enter a bidding war for Diggs. They just need to put in a claim and hope they’re the team with the worst record to have done so.
Diggs is an 11-year veteran with 124 starts, 24 career interceptions, and 652 combined tackles. He made the Pro Bowl three consecutive years between 2020 and 2023.
So why is Quandre Diggs available?
It’s a valid question. And I reached out to A to Z Sports Tennessee’s insider Easton Freeze for his insight.
Freeze: “Diggs rejoined the Titans late in the offseason process this summer, after rehabbing from his season-ending foot injury in 2024 as a free agent. He played the first half of that season as a starter and played good football before he got hurt. He came back to play the role of a high-end rotational third this season, getting a chance to be on his cousin Cam Ward’s team. He was getting a heavy dose of work in dime the past month. His time in Tennessee this time around always felt like it would come to an early end somehow, however, since GM Mike Borgonzi drafted rookie S Kevin Winston Jr. in the third round this spring.
“He tore his ACL at the beginning of his final season in college, and suffered a setback in August that pushed back his debut. He’s worked his way into action the past handful of weeks, and it was clear he was about to hit a ceiling of reps unless somebody in front of him was cut or demoted. Hence, the decision to let Diggs go was made. He’s still got good football in him.”
Dallas Cowboys News
We can all learn from Cowboys QB Dak Prescott’s reaction to Marshawn Kneeland’s death
Dak speaks.
