Unexpected DaRon Bland injury makes Cowboys' biggest mistake of the offseason look even worse
The Dallas Cowboys just got hit with an All-Pro-caliber haymaker out of left field weeks before the start of the 2024 NFL regular season: DaRon Bland is set to undergo foot injury and is projected to lose six to eight weeks, the team announced.Bland, who earned First-Team All-Pro honors in 2023 after setting the NFL […]
The Dallas Cowboys just got hit with an All-Pro-caliber haymaker out of left field weeks before the start of the 2024 NFL regular season: DaRon Bland is set to undergo foot injury and is projected to lose six to eight weeks, the team announced.
Bland, who earned First-Team All-Pro honors in 2023 after setting the NFL record for most pick sixes in history, is a crucial piece of the team's defense and one of the biggest reasons the Cowboys are confident in Mike Zimmer taking over the unit Dan Quinn built.
It also happens to be arguably the biggest reason why the team was comfortable in letting Stephon Gilmore walk in free agency, as Trevon Diggs was returning from season-ending injury.
Now that Bland is set to miss at least one month of the regular season, the criticisms surrounding the Cowboys' decision-making throughout the entire offseason is being evidenced for what it's been the entire time: Straight up bad, passive, and reactive instead of proactive.
Cowboys' biggest mistake of the offseason looks even worse now
Fifteen days away from the Cowboys' regular season opener, Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb have yet to receive their respective contract extensions. Owner Jerry Jones has repeatedly claimed the front office is in no rush to get them done, either. Meanwhile, Lamb has yet to log even one snap worth of practice with the team in an official setting and Prescott will take up $55M in cap space the upcoming season.
Despite Jones' claim to not be in a hurry to put ink to paper with any of those two deals, the reality is getting them done earlier (last year, even), would've given the Cowboys more room to work with, as they would've brought both Lamb's and Prescott's cap hits down.
In turn, that would've made it much more easier to keep Gilmore around for better cornerback depth. The former Defensive Player of the Year is set to occupy only $4.6 million in the Minnesota Vikings' cap space. For context, that's less than what current third-string QB Trey Lance will occupy in Dallas.
The front office's passive approach kept them from retaining depth at a critical spot, which already had significant question marks as Trevon Diggs returns from ACL injury. Keep in mind, the Cowboys have already gone through costly post-ACL woes in Michael Gallup and Terence Steele, whose quality in pass protection largely diminished in 2023, his first year back from injury.
Now, the Cowboys are set to open the season with Diggs, Jourdan Lewis in the nickel, and opposite of Diggs will be… fifth-round rookie Caelen Carson? As exciting as he's been this preseason, it might be an unfair ask to expect Carson to provide the Cowboys with regular-season-ready play at outside corner. Perhaps the Cowboys pick up the phone and start shopping for corners.
But one thing shouldn't be lost on fans and media members: The Cowboys could've easily been more proactive, keeping Gilmore around for another year. Instead, their passive approach to contract extensions, free agency, and team-building has them in a tough spot entering the season.
