As I am sure most of you all have already heard, the Cowboys lost DaRon Bland this weekend. He suffered a fracture in his foot that will require surgery.
As a result, the injury could keep him sidelined from six to eight weeks. Bland’s injury was diagnosed after feeling soreness in his foot during training camp in Oxnard.
This news happened a few days after Stephon Gilmore, who played with Dallas last season, signed a one-year, 10 million dollar deal with the Vikings.
In my opinion, that is way too much money for him anyway, even if Dallas thought about bringing him back before the Bland news.
If DaRon Bland falls in the 6-8 week recovery period then the Cowboys are looking at a potential return perhaps as soon as Oct. 5 vs. Pittsburgh. They play the Lions Oct. 13 and have their bye week Oct. 20.
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) August 24, 2024
Jerry Being Jerry
Jerry Jones was asked after Saturday’s preseason loss to the Chargers if they would think about bringing in any help at corner with the loss. He, of course shut down any hope of them doing so.
“Not at all. Not in any way. No. Not at all,” Jerry said. “The good news is we’ve got some guys that have really shown well in camp. We won’t be looking at all.”
Right on cue, Jerry Jones is telling us all how he loves his guys! Everytime he says that, it comes back to bite him.
They made it work a year ago when Diggs went down because they had Gilmore to step in on the roster already. Now they don’t, and although they get Diggs back, they will be depending on younger guys.
Fifth-round pick Caelen Carson, who has had a stellar training camp. The Cowboys also have Andrew Booth Jr., who they traded for two weeks ago.
Jerry Jones on Caelan Carson, the fifth round pick who could take over for DaRon Bland pic.twitter.com/UXAEcphsGp
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) August 25, 2024
Booth recorded a pick-six in the preseason after being acquired by the team.
What If?
If the Cowboys start to get beat up in the secondary, or if they lose someone else, Jerry will have no choice but to look outside. If he does, who is even around?
Xavien Howard is the first name that comes to mind. He is a four-time Pro Bowler, 2020 First-Team All-Pro, two-time NFL interceptions leader (2018, 2020), 29 career interceptions (second-most in NFL since 2016).
The most accomplished free agent is Patrick Peterson, and although he is 34, he wouldn’t be asked to do a ton for Mike Zimmer’s defense.
Peterson is an eight-time Pro Bowler, three-time First-Team All-Pro, 2010’s All-Decade Team member, 36 career interceptions since entering in 2011 (second-most in NFL).
J.C Jackson is one last name that the Cowboys could consider signing if needed. Early in his career, he looked like to be the next great one, but things did not work out after he signed a huge contract with the Chargers.
He made the Pro Bowl in 2021 and even won the Super Bowl with the Patriots.
The problem is he will be suspended for the first game of the 2024 season for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.
Don’t Count On It
I really don’t think Jerry will sign anyone unless another corner gets hurt. If Carson can hold it down until Bland gets back, it will allow Jourdan Lewis to stay put at the nickel corner spot. They should be okay.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on @1053thefan on DaRon Bland's foot injury: "The good news is he'll be here for the vital games at the end. He'll be out about 4-5 weeks to start the season."
"We're in great shape at corner because of our young guys coming in. That's one of the…
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) August 24, 2024
It still stinks thinking about, the cornerback spot is their best unit on the football field. This defense should be better under Mike Zimmer. The Cowboys did beef the defensive line after losing Sam Williams to a torn ACL.
The Cowboys luck is not on their side when it comes to losing players before the season even starts. This defense would have been even better if both of these guys were about to suit up for week one.
The the start to this season has a chance to quiet a lot of people early, or be a complete disaster if CeeDee Lamb is not signed.
