The Dallas Cowboys won’t have to use their franchise tag next year to keep cornerback Trevon Diggs from entering free agency. Dallas headed off that possibility by working out a contract extension with the former Alabama standout before he reached the final season of his four-year rookie deal.
Diggs became eligible for a contract extension after the 2022 season, his third in the NFL, and the Cowboys’ official website reported on Tuesday afternoon that the cornerback had signed a five-year extension worth up to $100 million. NFL Network reported the value of the five-year contract as $97 million, including a $21.25 million signing bonus, with incentives that could push Diggs’ total earnings to $104 million.
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A second-round draft choice in 2020, Diggs earned first-team All-Pro recognition in 2021 when he intercepted 11 passes. Until Diggs, no player in the NFL had intercepted more than 10 passes in a season since Dallas cornerback Everson Walls had 11 in 1981.
In 2022, Diggs repeated as a Pro Bowl selection as he matched the total of his rookie season with three more interceptions.
Only three other NFL cornerbacks have contracts with a total value of at least $97 million. The Cleveland Browns’ Denzel Ward has a five-year, $100.5 million contract, the New Orleans Saints’ Marshon Lattimore has a five-year, $97.603 million contract and the Baltimore Ravens’ Marlon Humphrey has a five-year, $97.5 million contract. Humphrey also is a former Alabama standout.
The Cowboys are scheduled to hold their first practice of training camp on Wednesday in Oxnard, California.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.