Lions work out former All-Pro cornerback on Sunday, but that doesn’t mean any of the things you might think it does
Lions worked out former All-Pro Trevon Diggs Sunday. Before anyone jumps to conclusions, this doesn’t mean what a lot of people might think it means.
The Detroit Lions tried out former All-Pro cornerback Trevon Diggs this weekend, and before anyone gets too excited, let’s pump the brakes. This feels like a tire-kicking situation more than a serious pursuit of a difference-maker. Detroit did not sign Diggs after working him out alongside seven other players on Sunday, and that tells you a lot about where the team possibly stands on this.
I’ve talked a lot recently about how the Lions could use an extra veteran cornerback. If that’s the ticket here, then a Diggs tryout makes sense on the surface. But if you’re looking at this and thinking the Lions are unhappy with their current cornerback room, that is not the way to read this. Not even close.
Trevon Diggs is not a starter anymore
I cannot say this enough. Diggs is not a starter. He just isn’t, and he hasn’t been for a long time. He played one game for the Green Bay Packers in 2025. Before that, he started six games for the Dallas Cowboys before they traded him. He played 11 games in 2024 and started all 11, but he only appeared in two games in 2023. Diggs has played in just 22 games over the last three seasons.
The player people think of when they hear the name Trevon Diggs hasn’t existed since 2022. Yes, he was an All-Pro. Yes, he was a Pro Bowler. He was a good player at that time. But that version of Diggs is gone.
If you’re looking at him as a potential starter for Detroit, or if you’re reading this tryout as a sign that D.J. Reed is going to be hurt for a long time, or that Ennis Rakestraw isn’t working out, or that Nick Whiteside isn’t what the Lions thought he was, or Rock Ya-Sin is not a starter, none of that is happening here. I’m not even fully confident Diggs could make the team if the Lions did sign him.
What Diggs could actually be for Detroit
You can understand why the Lions would kick the tires. If you’ve got Reed and Ya-Sin working as starters, with Rakestraw coming in and out and working in the slot a little bit, and Whiteside doing his thing, Diggs can be the guy after that. A depth piece. A rotational option. That’s it.
I look at Trevon Diggs right now like Kindle Vildor. That’s what you’re getting out of him at this point. A CB 4 or 5. If he somehow got himself healthy and returned to the player he was in 2022, hey, that’s a bonus. But more realistically, he’s a guy who has barely been on the field for three years.
Should the Lions sign Diggs and give him a look this summer? Yeah, it’s not a horrible idea. It really isn’t. It’s probably going to be super cheap, and there’s minimal risk in bringing in a veteran to compete. But that’s all this would be. A depth addition, nothing more.
The fact that Detroit tried out eight players on Sunday and didn’t sign Diggs says a lot. The Lions aren’t desperate at cornerback. They aren’t panicking. They’re doing their due diligence, which is exactly what a well-run organization does in August.
We’ll see what happens from here, but don’t read this as anything more than what it is.
What the Packers thought of him
If you wanted to get a second opinion on Diggs, we asked our Packers beat writer Wendell Ferreira what he thought of Diggs’ time in Green Bay. Here’s what he had to say:
“Cut by the Dallas Cowboys and claimed off waivers by the Green Bay Packers ahead of Week 18, Trevon Diggs played 33 defensive snaps against the Minnesota Vikings in the regular season finale, when Green Bay decided to rest starters, and was fairly decent in a limited role. However, he only played one snap against the Chicago Bears in the playoffs.
When the Packers claimed Diggs off waivers, they absorbed only $530k in guarantees, the proration of his 2025 salary for one week. However, the deal also had essentially team options for 2026 ($15.5 million), 2027 ($20.5 million), and 2028 ($21 million). Based on Diggs’ recent production, there was no way the Packers or any NFL team would pay that, and that’s why Green Bay was the only team to put a waiver claim on him.
The Packers could have worked to find a reasonable solution to bring Diggs back, but they weren’t actually interested in it. For Diggs, it just made more sense to be cut again and negotiate his next deal as a free agent, but after a few months it was clear that the Packers had simply decided to move on.”
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