The Cowboys’ defense has slipped into a rough spot again, and that reality is putting cornerback Daron Bland under a brighter spotlight than Dallas probably wanted.
Bland once looked like one of the biggest steals from the 2022 NFL Draft. The fifth-round pick followed a five-interception rookie season with a huge second year, finishing that 2023 campaign with nine interceptions and earning first-team All-Pro honors.
Since then, though, the production has gone flat in a hurry. He has only one interception over his last 24 games, and that kind of drop-off is hard to ignore.
The concern goes beyond the takeaway numbers. ESPN’s Bill Barnwell pointed out that Bland has also been vulnerable in coverage, which makes the lack of interceptions even more damaging.
“Bland was a first-team All-Pro after he picked off nine passes in 2023, but the interceptions have dried up since then. He has just one INT across 24 games since the start of 2024.
And when Bland isn't creating significant value with his takeaways, teams find it too easy to pick on him in coverage.
“He has allowed passer ratings north of 100 in coverage in each of the past three seasons, per Pro-Football-Reference.com, including a career-worst 126.2 mark this season,” Bill Barnwell wrote.
That puts Dallas in a tough spot. Bland is on a four-year, $92 million contract he signed in August of 2025, and that deal includes $50 million in guaranteed money. There are ways the Cowboys could move on if they decided to, but that contract makes any trade scenario complicated.
And for now, it feels unlikely another team would be eager to absorb that kind of financial commitment.
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