More importantly, he’s able to do everything that he needs to do from a physical standpoint.
“Physically, I don’t have any limitations,” Diggs said. “It’s really just ramping up the conditioning part, getting back to football speed, getting back to in-game speed. That’s pretty much it.”
Diggs says that he plans to fully engrain himself into practice on Friday. Being able to take the field on September 4 against the Eagles is the goal, but Diggs wants to make sure he’s fully prepared before making his return.
“I got to practice to see how I feel, get out there, run around, really put my foot in the ground and dig and drive and just go and condition is really the main thing,” Diggs said. “So if all of that is good and all that checks out, [I] probably could go.”
The biggest hurdle that Diggs says he has to get used to before coming back
“It’s different just working out with yourself and then having to cover someone, chase someone, run after the ball,” Diggs said. “I feel like that’s the main thing, so in practice, I got to make sure that I’m always running to the ball, always running, doing extra gassers, doing everything I can just to be physically conditioned for the game itself.”
During the offseason, Diggs chose to do a lot of his recovery work in Miami, Florida instead of the Cowboys’ facilities with the team’s training staff. That resulted in a $500,000 reduction because Diggs didn’t meet the in-building rehab attendance requirements in his contract.
While a lot was made about there being a potential divide between Diggs’ and the team’s training staff, he made sure to clear the air and talk about the respect he holds for Cowboys director of rehabilitation Britt Brown.
“I have no issues with the training staff or nothing. Me and Britt [Brown] are cool, that’s my guy. We go back and forth, we have our differences, but he just wants the best for me,” Diggs said. “He wants me to be out there and that’s ultimately my goal as well.”
“I want the best for myself, and I want to be out there as well. So it was never nothing against the Dallas Cowboys and their program. I just felt like I just needed to take advantage and take initiative for me and my career.”
Additionally, Diggs added that his decision to train elsewhere wasn’t necessarily to prove a point to anyone either.
“I think it was more so just proving myself that I can get back out there,” Diggs said. “I really don’t think that it’s about anybody else. At the end of the day, I got to go out there and perform. I got to go out there and make sure that I’m available to perform. Just put in the work, keep my head down and people are going to have their opinion regardless.”
Does he think the team will still remove the $500,000 from his 2025 salary?
“I don’t know,” Diggs said. “It is what it is at this point. If it happens, it happens. If it don’t, it don’t. I just got to make sure I go out there, put on my best performance.”
With that all behind him, now Diggs is facing forward towards his sixth season with the Cowboys in a secondary that could really use his help on the outside. Thankfully for all parties involved, he’s coming back at just the right time.
“Between the first and the third week, that was my timetable for myself,” Diggs said of his goal to return to play. “I just wanted to make sure I did everything I can just to be able to have that opportunity just to be here.”
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