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DaRon Bland

Cowboys To Activate DaRon Bland From IR

October 30th, 2024 at 11:41am CST by Nikhil Mehta

Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland is expected to be activated from injured reserve on Wednesday, according to WFAA’s Ed Werder. The activation is a go, Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz tweets.

Dallas opened Bland’s 21-day practice window on October 9, so he will need to be activated or revert to season-ending injured reserve. He required surgery to repair a foot fracture suffered in training camp, sidelining him for the Cowboys’ first seven regular-season games.

Bland was a full participant in his first two practices during Week 6, but has not practiced since after experiencing discomfort in his foot. Dallas won’t want to lose him for the rest of the season, but he may require more time to get fully healthy and back into game shape.

Rookie Caelen Carson has struggled in Bland’s place, allowing completions on two-thirds of his targets, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). A return from the 2023 first-team All-Pro alongside Trevon Diggs would help the Cowboys withstand a myriad of injuries to their pass rush. Sam Williams landed on season-ending injured reserve during training camp, and both Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence have been sidelined since Week 4 with injuries of their own.

The Cowboys have missed Bland’s production after he recorded a league-high nine interceptions in 2023, including five pick-sixes. Dallas has just four interceptions this year with a 6.6% turnover rate that ranks eighth-worst among NFL defenses after forcing a turnover on 14.6% of opponent drives last season, the fourth-highest rate in the league.

Dallas currently has 54 players listed on its active roster, so they will need to clear two spots to open space for Bland’s activation.

Cowboys Open Practice Window For DaRon Bland

October 9th, 2024 at 12:33pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Cowboys have opened the 21-day practice window for All-Pro cornerback DaRon Bland, who started the regular season on injured reserve after a training camp foot fracture that required surgery, per ESPN’s Todd Archer.

Bland was designated to return when he was originally placed on injured reserve during final roster cuts, so the Cowboys still have seven return designations remaining for their injury-ravaged roster.

[RELATED: Injured Reserve Return Tracker]

Rookie Caelen Carson started the Cowboys’ first three games, but struggles against the Saints and the Ravens in back-to-back weeks led to his benching, with Andrew Booth and Amani Oruwariye starting in Week 4 and 5, respectively.

The Cowboys will be hoping Bland can make a sooner-than-expected return to the field opposite Trevon Diggs with their pass rush depleted with injuries to Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence and Marshawn Kneeland. At 3-2, Dallas sit second in the NFC East behind the Commanders with matchups against the Lions, 49ers, and Falcons in their next three games.

The Cowboys do have a Week 7 bye, so they will monitor Bland’s progress carefully to determine if he needs the extra time to get fully healthy. The sooner he can get back, the better for a Dallas defense that ranks 23rd in points allowed this season, though their primary weakness has been against the run. Still, Bland led the NFL with nine interceptions in 2023 – five of which he returned for touchdowns, an NFL record – and he would significantly shore up the Cowboys’ cornerback play after rotating through three backups to start the year.

NFC East Notes: Bland, Eagles, Giants

September 10th, 2024 at 1:56pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Cowboys managed fine without DaRon Bland in Week 1, smothering Deshaun Watson‘s comeback effort. But the team has not gotten a chance to play Bland and Trevon Diggs together since September of last season. Bland’s IR-return designation leaves the 2023 All-Pro out of the picture until at least Week 5. While a late-August report suggested Bland could miss eight games due to the foot stress fracture he suffered, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler notes the Cowboys are optimistic Bland will be ready to return when first eligible.

This would be welcome news for a Cowboys team that has seen each of its preferred top three corners sustain a significant injury since 2022. Jourdan Lewis suffered a career-threatening Lisfranc injury that season, and Diggs tore an ACL in September. The latter issue moved Bland from the slot to the boundary, leading to his record-breaking five-pick-six performance last season. The Cowboys used fifth-round rookie Caelen Carson as their starter alongside Diggs in Cleveland.

Here is the latest from the NFC East:

  • Devin White‘s role will be one to monitor when he debuts for the Eagles. The free agency addition missed Week 1, with Nakobe Dean starting alongside Zack Baun. Dean and Baun served as Vic Fangio‘s LB regulars in the Brazil game, and while White should still have a role upon debuting, the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane notes Dean beat out the former Buccaneers top-five pick for a starting job. White was believed to be on track for a starting role before camp. The Eagles had planned for Dean to be their top linebacker last season, but two IR stints — because of a foot issue — changed that plan. Dean’s injury-plagued second season, after he backed up Kyzir White and T.J. Edwards as a rookie, led to the White and Baun signings. White is coming off a disappointing Bucs season, which ended with a reduced role. After previously aiming for a top-five ILB deal in 2023, White is on a one-year, $4MM contract.
  • The Eagles lost four front office execs to assistant GM roles in 2022, leading Howie Roseman to rebuild his power structure. This resulted in both Alec Halaby and Jon Ferrari being elevated to the assistant GM role that had previously stood vacant despite the front office talent Roseman had stockpiled. Halaby interviewed for the Commanders and Panthers’ GM jobs during this year’s cycle, meeting about the Carolina gig twice. Ferrari should be expected to be summoned for GM meetings soon as well, The Athletic’s Jeff Howe notes (subscription required). Ferrari has been with the Eagles since 2016. Prior to the AGM bump, he worked mainly in the team’s compliance department.
  • Both Nick McCloud and Gunner Olszewski are expected to miss time for the Giants. McCloud, who pushed for a starting cornerback spot in training camp, sustained a knee injury that could keep him out weeks, Fox Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano notes. Olszewski sustained a groin injury and will miss extensive time. Both players re-signed on one-year deals this offseason.
  • Staying with the Giants, the team used 2023 third-rounder Jalin Hyatt as its No. 4 wide receiver in Week 1. Hyatt played only 16 snaps against the Vikings, with Vacchiano indicating the Tennessee alum is “clearly behind” the Malik Nabers–Wan’Dale Robinson–Darius Slayton trio. This could certainly change if the Giants considered a Slayton trade — which they did not during the offseason — but the deep threat played at least 16 snaps in 15 of his 17 rookie-year games.
  • The Cowboys were among the teams to create cap space recently. They restructured Terence Steele‘s contract, per ESPN.com’s Field Yates. This update creates $4.5MM in cap space for the team, one that just agreed to the most lucrative deal in NFL history (Dak Prescott‘s four-year, $240MM extension).
  • Josh Harris will work with Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment CEO Tad Brown in running the search for the team’s next president, the Washington Post’s Nicki Jhabvala tweets. The Commanders are searching for a successor to Jason Wright, who announced he will leave the post after the season.

Cowboys Reduce Roster To 53 Players

August 27th, 2024 at 11:03pm CST by Ely Allen

After some late trades and signings, the Cowboys joined in the NFL’s mass exodus of players to get their roster down to 53 players:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

  • T Nathan Thomas

Placed on IR (designated for return):

A number of veterans who were hoping to make the team in Dallas this year saw that hope come to an end. Freeman couldn’t compete with the young backups behind Ezekiel Elliott. Lawson couldn’t contribute to a depleted defensive line, either.

Rogers, the team’s seventh-round pick out of Auburn, is the only drafted rookie to be waived, though Thomas, the team’s other seventh-round pick out of Louisiana, will miss the entire season on injured reserve.

Brevyn Spann-Ford didn’t end up getting drafted, but the 24-year-old, 6-foot-7 tight end out of Minnesota will be the fourth tight end on the roster to start the year.

Cowboys CB DaRon Bland To Miss Up To 8 Games

August 24th, 2024 at 9:50pm CST by Ely Allen

9:50pm: While Bland’s absence will be felt at the start of the year, Jones said the Cowboys will not explore a cornerback addition to fill the vacancy created by his injury (h/t Nick Harris of the team’s website). Jones further indicated (via Machota) Dallas is not likely to be active at any positions during roster cutdowns with the team having already added along the defensive line by way of the Jordan Phillips trade acquisition and the Linval Joseph signing.

1:58pm: The Cowboys defense was hit with yet another significant blow before the season has even begun. As Dallas has been scrambling to make up for the loss of Sam Williams to a season-ending ACL tear, they will now be forced to replace another starter, as well. First reported by Jon Machota of The Athletic, All-Pro cornerback DaRon Bland is set to undergo foot surgery that will keep him out for six to eight weeks.

According to Machota, “Bland experienced foot discomfort on Wednesday of last week during training camp.” He underwent imaging that “revealed a stress fracture in his foot,” requiring the necessary surgery. While experts are predicting the above six- to eight-week absence, team owner/president/general manager Jerry Jones was quoted predicting an absence of four to five weeks during an interview on 105.3 The FAN. Regardless, the team will be without an All-Pro defender to start the season.

Bland burst onto the scene two years ago, despite being a fifth-round pick out of Fresno State. Originally a dual-sport athlete at Sacramento State where he competed in track and field for the Hornets during both indoor and outdoor seasons, primarily as a long jumper, Bland’s collegiate career did nothing to suggest the impact he would have in the NFL. With only three interceptions in three years at Sacramento State and only two picks in his lone season with the Bulldogs, Bland matched his collegiate interception-total in his rookie season alone.

As a rookie in Dallas, Bland started eight of the final 10 games and recorded the first five picks of his career. The Cowboys didn’t start him in Week 1 of last year, but when he returned an interception for the first pick-six of his career, it didn’t take them long to remedy their error. Three weeks later, in his second start of the season, Bland picked off two more passes returning another for a touchdown. Bland would end up leading the league with nine interceptions and setting an NFL record with five pick-sixes on the year.

The Cowboys were set to enter the season with Bland across from Trevon Diggs as their starting cornerbacks with Jourdan Lewis returning as a near-permanent fixture in the slot. After Diggs went on injured reserve near the start of the season last year, the Cowboys saw Bland and veteran addition Stephon Gilmore make up 85 percent of the team’s defensive snaps at outside cornerback, so they don’t have anyone with extensive experience ready to fill in.

Nahshon Wright had reportedly been mixing in with the first-team defense a bit on the perimeter this offseason, but the team shipped him off to Minnesota, receiving Vikings cornerback Andrew Booth in return. A former second-round pick out of Clemson, Booth has struggled to live up to his draft stock so far in his NFL career, only making two starts with the Vikings in as many years. Second-year defensive back Eric Scott Jr., who failed to make an appearance in his rookie season, and fifth-round rookie Caelen Carson out of Wake Forest will both join Booth in attempting to fill in early for Bland.

The Cowboys will likely utilize one of the NFL’s newer roster rules and place Bland on IR. Though, usually, players placed on IR before the start of the regular season are forced to miss the entire year, a new rule allows teams to place two players on the injured list before roster cutdowns who are exempt from that requirement, allowing them to be activated and return within the same season. Bland is likely to receive that distinction for Dallas.

NFC East Notes: Neal, Cowboys, Commanders

November 30th, 2023 at 3:13pm CST by Sam Robinson

While the Giants have seen Andrew Thomas become one of the NFL’s better tackles — en route to a $23.5MM-per-year extension — they have not observed their right tackle make a second-year leap. Evan Neal has missed time with injuries and struggled when on the field. Thomas was a Dave Gettleman draft choice, while Neal went in Joe Schoen‘s first draft in charge. Pro Football Focus has assigned this season’s third-worst tackle grade to Neal. The Alabama product was seen as a player who could potentially slide to guard at some point, having played there at times in college. For the time being, Schoen is not entertaining such a switch.

“No, I don’t think so,” Schoen said, via the New York Post’s Ryan Dunleavy. “We are looking forward to getting him back, but he knows there are some things he can do better — and that’s what we expect from him. … I went back and watched the Alabama stuff: The kid can play. We just have to get him to be more consistent. I have a lot of confidence in Evan.”

In 20 starts over two seasons, PFF charges Neal with 10 sacks allowed. Just two of those have come this year, but the former No. 7 overall pick has missed five games. Neal has missed five of the Giants’ past six contests; the team has not placed him on IR. The Giants will certainly hope to see signs of promise from Neal down the stretch.

Here is the latest from the NFC East:

  • DaRon Bland has morphed from a 2022 fifth-round pick into an NFL record holder, via the fifth pick-six he notched on Thanksgiving. The Cowboys could see two cornerbacks become first-team All-Pros in three seasons, after Trevon Diggs‘ 11-INT season landed him on the 2021 top team. Diggs’ 2023 replacement played at Division I-FCS Sacramento State and then spent a year at Fresno State. Cowboys scout Ross Wuensche identified Bland as a target, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport notes (video link), and the team brought him in for a visit. Describing Bland as a late-blooming prospect, Rapoport adds interest came in late enough he could not turn all his invitations for “30” into meetings before the 2022 deadline. With Stephon Gilmore‘s contract up after this season, the Cowboys extended Diggs and have Bland signed through 2025.
  • Recent Cowboys pickup Martavis Bryant remains in redevelopment mode. The team has not elevated its practice squad stash for a game yet, making it now more than five years since the former Steelers starter has played in an NFL game. No timetable is in place for a Bryant move to the active roster, but executive VP Stephen Jones said (via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Clarence Hill) the team sought the recent XFL wideout for his size-speed combo. The Cowboys are fairly well stocked at receiver, but Bryant’s 6-foot-4 frame would be a new dimension for this particular Dallas receiving cadre. It remains to be seen if the soon-to-be 32-year-old pass catcher still has NFL-viable form left.
  • Having fired DC Jack Del Rio after a Cowboys Thanksgiving romp, Ron Rivera is set to call the Commanders‘ defensive plays. The team also fired multi-stop Del Rio lieutenant Brent Vieselmeyer, who was Washington’s DBs coach this season. To help manage the workload, Rivera hired Jimmy Salgado as an interim staffer, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets. Salgado had spent six seasons on Sean McDermott‘s Bills staff, but the team fired him this offseason. Salgado spent the 2023 season at Michigan State, working as the Spartans’ cornerbacks coach.

Cowboys CB Trevon Diggs Suffers ACL Tear In Practice

September 21st, 2023 at 9:58pm CST by Sam Robinson

Trevon Diggs suffered a knee injury in practice Thursday, and it will deal a considerable blow to their vaunted defense. The All-Pro defender left Dallas’ facility today on crutches and went through an MRI, David Moore of the Dallas Morning News reports. Unfortunately for the Cowboys, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports the MRI revealed an ACL tear. The Cowboys have since confirmed Diggs is expected to miss the season’s remainder.

Diggs went down during a one-on-one drill, per ESPN’s Todd Archer, and an NFL.com report minutes earlier expressed the fear of a serious injury. The Cowboys gave Diggs a five-year, $97MM extension during training camp. While this development highlights the importance of Diggs locking in that deal when he did, it strips Dan Quinn‘s defense of a quality starter.

Through two games, Diggs had intercepted a pass and notched a forced fumble. He is two years removed from an 11-interception season — the most in a single slate since Everson Walls’ Cowboys rookie year produced 11 in 1981 — and had just begun his age-25 season. Diggs turned 25 on Wednesday.

The Cowboys began to build their cornerback group around Diggs early, drafting him after letting Byron Jones walk in 2020. A second-round pick out of Alabama, Diggs became an immediate starter. He has developed an earned reputation as a gambler; Pro Football Focus has yet to assign him a top-40 grade for a season. Nevertheless, the 6-foot-1 cover man resides as a key starter for a Cowboys team that entered the season carrying Super Bowl aspirations.

Routs of the Giants and Jets gave the Cowboys a staggering plus-60 point differential ahead of Week 3. The team had assembled a stronger cornerback group this year, acquiring Stephon Gilmore via trade. The Cowboys will depend on the 33-year-old corner remaining in form this season, as they no longer will have Diggs teaming with the former Defensive Player of the Year. Gilmore’s Colts-constructed contract expires after this season.

This also continues a trend for the Cowboys, who lost Jourdan Lewis and Anthony Brown to season-ending injuries last year. Brown is now with the 49ers; Lewis remains with the Cowboys. Lewis, 28, suffered a Lisfranc fracture in October 2022. The seventh-year veteran made his season debut in Week 2, playing 10 defensive snaps. In addition to Lewis, the Cowboys have Noah Igbinoghene — acquired in a corner-for-corner trade that sent Kelvin Joseph to the Dolphins — and sixth-round rookie Eric Scott Jr. rostered. DaRon Bland remains as Dallas’ top slot corner. Nahshon Wright is on Dallas’ IR; he can return in Week 5.

Bland moving outside to team with Gilmore, while Lewis steps back into the slot, represents a potential course of action for the team, Archer adds. This plan looks set to be how Dallas will align their corners after this injury, with Moore and NFL.com’s Jane Slater adding Lewis is on track to move back into the starting lineup. Lewis, who will kick Bland outside, played at least 74% of Dallas’ defensive snaps from 2019-21. Lewis remains attached to a three-year, $13.5MM deal agreed to in 2021. This will be new territory for Bland, in the NFL at least; he stepped in for Brown in the slot when the latter suffered an Achilles tear in December of last year.

The Cowboys identified Diggs as an extension candidate going into camp; he joined CeeDee Lamb and Terence Steele as such. Steele followed Diggs by signing a lucrative extension. Lamb’s fifth-year option always made him a more logical 2024 extension target. The Cowboys guaranteed Diggs $33.3MM at signing; an additional $9MM is guaranteed for injury. Diggs’ $19.4MM AAV ranks fifth among corners.

Signing the deal effectively ties Diggs to the Cowboys for two seasons, with 2025 representing an escape hatch. The Cowboys will presumably hope for a longer-term partnership, but Diggs now must go through a several-month rehab process. Considering the opportunity the Cowboys have this season, it would not surprise to see them dig deeper into the trade market to see if an upgrade exists. For now, they are without one of their core performers.

Latest On Cowboys’ CB Situation

June 16th, 2023 at 1:12pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Cowboys finished last season without two veteran cornerbacks, losing Jourdan Lewis and Anthony Brown to major injuries. Brown’s contract expired, and the seven-year vet is a free agent. Lewis remains on the team but is not a lock to be ready for the season.

Lewis was told he suffered a severe Lisfranc fracture, per the Dallas Morning News’ David Moore, and he acknowledged the battle will be avoiding the reserve/PUP list. That designation would sideline him for four games to start the season. But Lewis is a near-certainty to begin training camp on the shelf. With Lewis ticketed for the active/PUP list next month, Cowboys executive VP Stephen Jones said (via The Athletic’s Jon Machota) a cornerback addition will probably be considered.

Jones noted that such a move might be for depth purposes, and the Cowboys already made their splashy corner addition in March. They sent a 2023 fifth-round pick to the Colts for Stephon Gilmore. The former Defensive Player of the Year will join Trevon Diggs as Dallas’ outside cornerbacks. Lewis may become a factor in the slot again, but for the time being, the former third-round pick is not in the picture.

Lewis’ primary replacement following his October injury, DaRon Bland, worked in the slot at minicamp. After beginning last season as a backup and special-teamer, Bland started eight games and graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 48 overall corner. Bland intercepted four passes in the Cowboys’ final six games and played every defensive snap for the team in the playoffs. That grade aside, the 6-foot-2 corner still allowed five touchdown passes as the closest defender in coverage.

The Cowboys are not planning to reduce Bland’s role, with Machota noting he is expected to be a top-three corner alongside Diggs and Gilmore to start his sophomore NFL slate (subscription required). This plan extending into the regular season stands to complicate matters for Lewis and Kelvin Joseph. The team tried the former second-rounder in the slot during its offseason program. Despite Joseph’s draft pedigree, he has not carved out much of a role in Dallas. He has played 330 defensive snaps in 26 career games. Bland looks to be firmly ahead of the former No. 44 overall pick exiting minicamp.

Lewis, who will turn 28 later this summer, is entering the final season of a three-year, $13.5MM deal. The 43-game starter is due a $4.5MM base salary and counts $5.9MM against the Cowboys’ cap. The Cowboys drafted a corner — Eric Scott Jr. — in the sixth round and still have 2021 third-rounder Nahshon Wright on the roster. Lewis, who was on crutches during part of the spring, has been running since May, per Moore. In order to position himself for a notable third contract, the Michigan product will need to show he has recovered from this injury this season.

Cowboys CB Jourdan Lewis Out For Remainder Of Preseason

August 19th, 2022 at 5:10pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Cowboys are dealing with a number of injuries in their receiving corps right now, but another position group will be shorthanded for at least a few weeks. Slot corner Jourdan Lewis suffered a hamstring injury in practice earlier this week, per Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News. 

As a result of the injury, Lewis will miss the remainder of training camp and the Cowboys’ two remaining preseason games. His timetable beyond that point is unclear; head coach Mike McCarthy said that more will be known only after he begins the rehab process. McCarthy did add, however, that “the immediate goal is to get him [back] for Week 1.’

Lewis, 26, has regained the role he had as a rookie in 2017 over the past two years, with snap percentages in the 70s. He had a career-year last campaign with three interceptions, 11 pass deflections and 61 total tackles – further proving the three-year extension he signed last March to be worthwhile. Missing any significant time in the regular season would, of course, be a major blow to the Cowboys’ secondary, which played a large role in the team’s surprising success on defense last season.

As Watkins notes, Dallas has a few options to replace Lewis in the short-term. Outside corner Anthony Brown could move inside, which would elevate Kelvin Joseph (who last month was cleared of all wrongdoing in association with a shooting investigation) to a starting position on the perimeter. Alternatively, the Cowboys could turn to fifth-round rookie DaRon Bland in the slot, which would leave Brown and Trevon Diggs on the outside.

The Cowboys’ two remaining preseason games could shed light on their plan to fill in for Lewis if doing so proves necessary in September. In the meantime, the progress he makes with respect to recovery will be worth watching.

Cowboys Sign First-Round OL Tyler Smith

May 13th, 2022 at 5:28pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Cowboys came to terms with first-round pick Tyler Smith on his four-year rookie contract Friday and are putting him to work at a new position, Ed Werder of ESPN.com tweets.

Smith lined up at left guard at Dallas’ rookie minicamp Friday, marking the first time he has played the guard position since his senior year of high school, Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram relays. The Tulsa product played exclusively at left tackle in college.

Tackle-to-guard transitions are common in the NFL; Zack Martin made the move as a rookie in 2014. Like Smith, Martin did not make any starts at guard in college. The Cowboys are still planning on a Tyron Smith-to-Tyler Smith transition at left tackle someday, with Hill noting the younger Smith will receive left tackle reps this offseason. But for now, the first-rounder will vie to line up next to the perennial Pro Bowler up front.

The Cowboys let previous left guard Connor Williams defect to the Dolphins in free agency, pitting Tyler Smith against Connor McGovern. While Smith could make sense at right tackle, the Cowboys are high on frequent starter Terence Steele to take over for La’el Collins full-time at that spot.

Smith, who goes 6-foot-4 and 324 pounds, was the Golden Hurricane’s full-time starter at left tackle in 2020 and ’21. As the No. 24 overall pick, Smith will be tied to a fully guaranteed deal worth $13.38MM, Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News tweets. The Cowboys can keep Smith on that rookie contract through 2026, via the fifth-year option.

The Cowboys also signed fifth-round offensive lineman Matt Waletzko (North Dakota State), fifth-round cornerback DaRon Bland (Fresno State), fifth-round linebacker Damone Clark (LSU) and sixth-round linebacker Devin Harper (Oklahoma State)on Friday, The Athletic’s Jon Machota tweets.