The Cowboys have not had the best of luck with their two highly paid cornerbacks this season, as both DaRon Bland and Trevon Diggs–who, together, have contracts with a total value worth $190 million–have struggled with injuries and underperformance. The secondary was expected to be the strength of this Cowboys defense but, instead, it has been one of the worst in the NFL.
Diggs has been a sideshow disaster all season, but Bland is becoming a major Cowboys concern, too. On Thursday, pretty devastating news came out about the state of Bland’s left foot, which, upon initial diagnosis will require more surgery and will keep him out for the remainder of this season. Bland is seeking a second opinion, but he has not practiced this week and even if it is determined he does not need surgery, he is likely done for 2025.
Here’s what ESPN’s Todd Archer wrote on Twitter/X on Thursday: “Cornerback DaRon Bland is facing surgery on his left foot for the second time in as many years, according to multiple sources. Bland is seeking a second opinion. No surgery has been scheduled yet. Even w/o surgery, he is likely going to end up on injured reserve w/ 3 games left.”
DaRon Bland Has Struggled for the Cowboys
Bland originally injured the foot last August, just before the start of the 2024 season. That injury required surgery and he sat out for 10 games. In the seven games he did play, Bland was nowhere near the player he had been in 2023, when he was an All-Pro, recorded nine interceptions and set a record with five returned for touchdowns. Bland allowed quarterbacks to pass for a rating of just 60.8 when they threw his way in 2023, but that spiked to 105.7 in the seven 2024 games.
It was based off that 2023 season that the Cowboys granted him the massive four-year, $92 million extension he got back in August of this year.
Alas, the foot has not been healthy this season, and it has shown in Bland’s play. In 12 games, he has allowed a QB rating of 103.3. At Pro Football Focus, he has earned a grade of 65.2, which is just No. 41 in the NFL, out of 112 corners. That grade was 89.5 in 2023, and he was the No. 2 rated cornerback in the league.
DaRon Bland Situation May Impact Trevon Diggs
It’s unclear what will happen now for Bland. A second surgery on the same foot will call into question whether he can ever quite be the same player for the Cowboys that he was two years ago. The Cowboys are in a similar situation with Diggs, who was a Pro Bowler in 2021 and 2022, got a $97 million contract, but tore the ACL in his left knee in 2023 and hasn’t been the same since.
This year, Diggs has complained about Matt Eberflus’s offense, suffered a concussion in a mysterious home accident and finally was sent home to rehab his right knee–the opposite of the one he’d injured two years ago–and has not been allowed to return to action despite insisting he is healthy.
It may be that the situation with Bland pushes the Cowboys to give Diggs more leeway in returning.
GettyTrevon Diggs #7 of the Dallas Cowboys.
Cowboys Holding Diggs Out
Coach Brian Schottenheimer has said Diggs has not shown enough in his attempts to return to warrant putting him back on the field. Diggs said he was not told he was going to sit out last week until the day before the game.
As he explained: “Yesterday, I was told I wasn’t playing, so that’s why I thought that I was playing. It was a quick decision, I didn’t know. I thought I was going to come out here and play, but they felt otherwise. That’s just what it was.”
Cowboys Star Gets Devastating Injury News Before Week 16