The Dallas Cowboys certainly had higher expectations for the revamped defense the team put together this offseason. Not only had the team flipped over personnel at six starting spots, but they added one of what was considered among the best young coaches in the NFL, defensive backs coach Christian Parker. The Cowboys brought on Parker as the new defensive coordinator and felt they’d fixed the defensive issues that plagued them in 2025. Of course, from the get-go here in 2026, that vision of the Cowboys’ D has collapsed, and it seems that each week brings some fresh new defensive atrocity. While there has been ample disappointment from the new players the team brought in, maybe the biggest flops have been some of the returning players who had high hopes–and former All-Pro DaRon Bland could well be on top of that list.
Bland was a second-year star in 2023, when he picked off nine passes and returned five of them for touchdowns. Even after he suffered a foot injury, the team rewarded him with a $92 million, four-year contract, unaware at the time that the foot injury would continue to slow him for the coming years and would require a second surgery.
Cowboys Had High Hopes for DaRon Bland
The hope for the Cowboys was that, fully healed from that second surgery, done in January, Bland would return to All-Pro form, or at least something close to it. Instead, he has gotten worse. Bland allowed a passer rating of 60.8 when he was an All-Pro, but that jumped to more than 103 the past two seasons as Bland has fought through the foot injury. This year it’s bloomed up to 114.5, and Bland has already allowed three touchdowns.
Pro Football Focus rated Bland the No. 92 corner in the NFL, out of 102.
Parker was asked about Bland specifically when meeting with reporters on Thursday, and was clear that the team needs better performance from him.
Said Parker, via Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: “We need more from him. He knows that, we’ve had some good talks about that. I think he’s battling. The frustrating thing for him and for us has been he’s been close and contesting. Now, it’s about the final piece of just finishing those plays … We just got to get back to making that consistent.”
The problem, though, is that it has been three years since Bland was, in fact, consistent.
Cowboys’ Christian Parker Calls Out Disappointing $92 Million All-Pro