Trevon Diggs, Cowboys Reportedly Agree to 5-Year, $97M Contract Extension

The Dallas Cowboys and Trevon Diggs reportedly agreed to a five-year, $97 million extension, according to multiple reports.

The deal reportedly can be worth up to $104 million, with a signing bonus of $21.2 million.

If he hits that $104 million, the 24-year-old's $20.8 million average annual salary would be the second-highest at the cornerback position, just trailing the Green Bay Packers' Jaire Alexander ($21 million AAV).

Paying top dollar for their best young stars hasn't always worked out recently for the Cowboys. It didn't take long for extensions to Ezekiel Elliott and Jaylon Smith to turn sour, while Amari Cooper and La'el Collins were eventually deemed too pricey.

Diggs has also been a somewhat polarizing player considering he's a two-time Pro Bowler who led the NFL in interceptions (11) in 2021.

The 2020 second-round pick may have nearly set a single-season interception record, but there was a trade-off to his approach. Per Pro Football Reference, he allowed 16.8 yards per reception and 8.8 yards per target in 2021. In addition, he surrendered the most passing yards (907) of any one player.

Interceptions aren't the only measure of success for a defensive back. For every highlight-reel play he made, it felt like there was an example of him unsuccessfully jumping a route or simply getting beat over the top.

Ahead of the 2022 season, Diggs indicated he wanted to pick off even more passes, which was a little concerning for the reasons laid out above. He didn't put that plan into action on the field, though.

In 17 games, the Alabama product had three interceptions, 59 tackles and 14 pass breakups. His 12.2 yards per completion allowed and three touchdowns allowed were a career low. The most impressive stat might be that he missed just one tackle during the regular season, down from 10 in 2022.

Diggs may not have had the same kind of impact compared to the previous season, but you could argue he turned into a more balanced defender.

For some, though, the NFC Divisional Round left a bad lasting image of his campaign. In the third quarter, he totally whiffed on a hit that could have dislodged the ball but instead led to a big completion for the San Francisco 49ers.

On that same drive, he couldn't haul in an interception that dropped into his lap in the red zone. The 49ers capitalized on their good fortune by scoring what was ultimately the decisive touchdown.

You don't want to judge a player on one game alone, but the 2023 playoffs were a reminder of how pinning down Diggs' value might prove difficult for Dallas. There's no question he has performed at an elite level, yet he still hasn't totally shaken the overrated label.

All things considered, re-signing him now was the most sensible decision for the Cowboys if they envisioned him as a long-term piece in the secondary. A new contract was only going to be more expensive if he hit the open market in 2024, and using the franchise tag then would have only pushed his price higher in 2025.

Now, the organization can only hope history doesn't repeat itself and his contract becomes another burden on the payroll like the Elliott and Smith extensions once did.