The Dallas Cowboys have quite a few notable injuries that they are managing ahead of their Week 5 Sunday Night Football matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The defensive front is very banged up with DeMarcus Lawrence, Sam Williams, Jordan Phillips, and Micah Parsons all unavailable for the game, but it looks like the secondary could have some issues as well. DaRon Bland is on IR, and CBs Caelen Carson and Trevon Diggs both finished the week with questionable designations for game day.
According to NFL Network’s Jane Slater via The Insiders, Diggs seems more likely to go while Carson might be a stretch.
“Caelen Carson, you thought the other corner opposite Trevon Diggs, might be able to come along. That’s looking like a little bit more of a stretch,” Slater said. “And then, oh, by the way, Trevon Diggs ended up on the injury report with an ankle issue. Now it was Mike McCarthy…who said he feels pretty good about where he is at, but he also cushioned it with saying, ‘Everything points to him probably going Sunday night.’ So that ‘probably’ had me wondering. I reached out to a couple folks and I was told it does sound like he’ll play.”
With Bland out, one backup is already in the starting lineup with Carson. It sounds more likely than not that he will miss the game. Diggs, on the other hand, should be available. If one or both are unable to go, C.J. Goodwin and Andrew Booth would be the next men up at corner. Goodwin has been in the league since 2016, but has just one start and just 247 defensive snaps in his career. Booth is in his third season and has three starts with just 283 defensive snaps in his career.
Rush and coverage go hand in hand, so the lack of pressure from the banged up defensive front could be compounded with the inexperience in the secondary. With Diggs likely to play and Carson likely out, I would guess it is Booth that gets most of the additional snaps.
Diggs was a first-team All-Pro in 2021 after hauling in a whopping 11 interceptions, but hasn’t played up to that level since, partially because of injuries.
