The Dallas Cowboys know they have to shake things up in the secondary after a disastrous start to the season. The only problem? They might not have enough healthy pieces to do so.

But Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer provided an injury update on Tuesday that should make it easier.

CB Cobie Durant’s trending toward return

“Cobie Durant maybe get him doing some DB drills today,” Schottenheimer said.

Durant, who has been out since Week 2 with a hamstring injury, missed practice all of last week. Him trending toward participating in position drills is a big step in the right direction.

He still has a long way to go. But if he’s able to play on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers, it will have a major impact on what the Cowboys do defensively.

The $92 million implications

Durant’s expected return could be the key to address one of the biggest issues on the Cowboys defense: the declining play of $92 million cornerback DaRon Bland.

Despite the large sum of money he’s signed to and the fact that his contract almost forces the Cowboys to play him, Bland’s struggles should result in him getting benched. There’s just no excuse for his recent mistakes, including falling multiple times and giving up a third-and-21 conversion in Week 5 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers backup QB Jalon Daniels and WR Emeka Egbuka.

Simply put, Bland isn’t playing at a starting-caliber level. Even if the Cowboys lack a proven option to replace him, the coaching staff would be smart to send a message. Maybe it’s the wake-up call Bland needs.

But it’s not the same to replace Bland with Ameer Speed (who has shown flashes but ultimately made the roster because of special teams) than to do so with Durant—who was brought in as a projected starter in the first place.

Durant gives the Cowboys flexibility

Durant’s return opens up a couple of possibilities for the Cowboys. He can take the outside cornerback spot to the field while Joey Porter Jr. mans the boundary. At nickel the Cowboys can play Caleb Downs (or maybe Bland if they want to justify his contract but even that raises questions).

Durant also has experience at nickel, however. Maybe the Cowboys go with a secondary made up of Porter Jr., Speed, Bland (nickel), while Downs and Malik Hooker line up at safety.

Wednesday Injury Report

This post will be updated with the full injury report as soon as it becomes available.