Trevon Diggs
Kevin C. Cox/Getty
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - NOVEMBER 03: Trevon Diggs #7 of the Dallas Cowboys warms up prior to the game against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on November 03, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
The first round of waiver claims are in for the 2025 season, and the Dallas Cowboys added two new cornerbacks to their secondary. When initial 53-man rosters were due on Tuesday afternoon, most released players were subjected to waivers, and 29 were claimed in total. The Cowboys grabbed two of them.
Trikweze Bridges and Reddrick “Reddy” Steward are the newest Cowboys, and both could have critical roles for Dallas early in the season. Bridges was a seventh-round pick of the Los Angeles Chargers after playing his college ball at Florida, and Steward was an undrafted free agent in 2024 who spent camp this summer with the Vikings.
In corresponding moves, the Cowboys waived CBs Andrew Booth Jr. and Zion Childress. Booth is a former second-round pick of the Vikings, and Childress was a rookie undrafted free agent out of Kentucky.
Cornerback Depth at a Premium for the Dallas Cowboys
DaRon Bland
Richard Rodriguez/GettyARLINGTON, TEXAS – DECEMBER 10: DaRon Bland #26 of the Dallas Cowboys warms up prior to a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at AT&T Stadium on December 10, 2023 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)
Dallas has two studs at cornerback in DaRond Bland and Trevon Diggs. Bland is set and ready to star out of the gate to open the season, but Diggs might need some time. He’s recovering from offseason ankle surgery that caused him to miss all of training camp, and his availability for Week 1 is in question. He was activated from the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list over the weekend, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be ready to play when the Cowboys travel to Philadelphia to face the Eagles on September 4. He still has plenty of conditioning to do to get back up to speed, something he noted on Monday.
Rookie third-round pick Shavon Revel tore his ACL back in September while he was at East Carolina, and he’ll start the season on the PUP list. As a result, he’ll miss the first four games of the season, at minimum, and he could be out longer depending on how long his recovery takes.
Trade acquisition Kaiir Elam comes over from Buffalo to man one of those spots while Diggs and Revel are out. Kemon Hall didn’t survive roster cuts, and now Booth and Childress are out too. A lot will be asked of these newcomers until everyone’s healthy.
More Moves Could Be on the Horizon for the Dallas Cowboys
While Bridges and Steward are certainly welcome additions, neither is an established contributor. As a former seventh-round pick and undrafted free agent, both very early in their professional careers, asking them to play meaningful snaps in a real NFL game is a risky proposition at best.
As a result, more moves could be coming from Dallas, especially if Revel is expected to miss more than just four games. Either one of Bridges and Steward are just one injury away from checking into a game, and that’s if Diggs is ready to go Week 1. If he’s not, one of them could be starting in the Cowboys’ season opener. They may want to avoid that possibility.