Trevon Diggs burst onto the scene in 2021 when he led the league in interceptions (11) and interceptions returned for touchdowns (2). He was named a First-Team All-Pro, but he hasn’t been able to match that level since. And he’ll need to if he’s going to achieve all the ambitious goals he’s been laying out for himself.
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Diggs’ numbers have dipped in the last few seasons (he has just six INTs in the previous three years) and, possibly more importantly within the context of making his big dreams come true, he has dealt with serious injuries in each of the last two campaigns, missing 21 games in 2023-2024. That can’t happen if he’s going to play as long as he says he wants to.
Diggs recently revealed that he has “like seven kids” (the unspecific descriptor is not encouraging there), most of whom were born in the last couple of years and by different women. That’s wild enough. But possibly even wilder was when he expressed his hope of playing until he’s 40 (14 more years), so he can pull a LeBron James and play in the NFL with his eldest son, Aiden, who turned eight last year.
“He just said, ‘Can you play 19 more years so we can play together?’ I said I’ll try to get my LeBron James on. He wants me to play until I’m like 40, he loves football a lot,” Diggs told N3on.
Wow: Cowboys standout CB Trevon Diggs wants to play in the NFL for at least another 14 YEARS 🤯🤯
Trevon plans on playing together with his 8-year-old son Aaiden when he gets to the league.
26-year-old Diggs would be 40 years old at that time. pic.twitter.com/86kEli8ZxF
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) June 19, 2025
Diggs is referring to the fact that LeBron just completed his 22nd year in the NBA at the age of 40. And he got to play with his 20-year-old son, Bronny James. It’s an admirable dream for a guy who has seemingly been apathetic about fatherhood based on the rate at which he’s having kids over the last few years.
Diggs might struggle to meet the 40-year-old plateau, however. In fact, some think he might not even reach the 30-year-old threshold. One Twitter user said: “He’s only got like 3 more solid years left, college is producing too much talent,” while another pointed out how difficult cornerback is: “At corner back that is not happening in today’s league lol.”
Others said his quality of play needed to be raised if he’s going to stay on in the league for so long: “Needs to not get burnt by a big play once a game and he could do that.” Another said it’s already too late for Diggs: “he’s washed at 26, he’s not making it that far.”
There’s no doubt Diggs will need to return to his 2021 form for at least a few more years to build a stronger reputation. Without that, teams won’t give him the time of day in his mid-30s, let alone his early 40s. Most recently, we’ve seen guys like Tramon Williams, Mike Adams, and Terrence Newman play until ages 37, 38, and 39, respectively.
Newman was the only one who remained a true corner until the end. However, there’s a clear trend of aging corners transitioning to safety as the gray hairs come in. Charles Woodson is the perfect example. He played cornerback until he was 35, regularly at an All-Pro and Pro Bowl level, mind you — before shifting to safety and playing four more years, retiring at age 39.
So Diggs needs to work on his game at CB. But he also needs to prepare for a move to safety, eventually. Cornerback is arguably the toughest position to play in sports. And it takes elite raw athleticism. That doesn’t last into your 40s—unless you’re Hall of Famer Darrell Green, the only defensive back to play into his fifth decade of life in NFL history.
