Cowboys, Trevon Diggs agree to five-year, $97M extension

The Cowboys have locked up the first of their three young star veterans, bringing the Alabama corner into top-5 at the position territory. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The first shoe has dropped on the Dallas Cowboys’ carousel of star players in need of new deals. While the fanbase has recently been distracted by Zack Martin’s holdout coming out of nowhere, the conversation had previously been about the group of young veterans who were ascending to the top of their positions. Between the 2020 and 2021 draft classes, the Cowboys have a trifecta of young stars who rank among the league’s best.

Defensive end Micah Parsons may already be the best defensive player in the league, but he’s only entering his third season and isn’t yet eligible for an extension. WR CeeDee Lamb took over as WR1 last season and flourished, but as a first-round pick in 2020, Dallas has him locked up for this season and next thanks to the fifth-year extension. CB Trevon Diggs, a second-round pick, was the most urgent priority, and on Tuesday the club took care of that itch.

Diggs has agreed to a five-year extension worth $97 million.

The $19.4 million average in new money slots him as a top-five corner in salary, tied for the final slot with the Saints’ Marshon Lattimore, who signed his deal in September 2021.

Green Bay’s Jaire Alexander is currently the highest-paid corner in the league at $21 million per season.

Diggs has been a menace to opposing QBs since entering the league from Alabama. A starter since Week 1, Diggs didn’t record an interception in his first seven contests. He had two in Week 8 against rival Philadelphia and hasn’t looked back since. With 17 career interceptions, the most in the league in that span, Diggs has established himself as a worthy adversary to be avoided.

Diggs was scheduled to make $4.3 million this season in base salary, bringing the total of his deal to just over $101 million across five years.