Tag: daron bland

Cowboys CB shuffle: DaRon Bland activated, Trevon Diggs sits out practice, backup goes to IR

From @ToddBrock24f7: Bland is no lock to play this Sunday; the team had to activate him today or end his season. Amani Oruwariye moves to IR with a back injury.

DaRon Bland is back on the Cowboys’ active roster, a signal that the third-year cornerback is growing tantalizingly close to making his 2024 regular-season debut.

Just in time, too. The team also placed fellow corner Amani Ouwariye on injured reserve after a back injury sustained last Sunday night against the San Francisco 49ers.

Bland has been out since suffering a stress fracture of the foot during training camp and started the season on IR. The former fifth-round draft pick and defending league leader in interceptions had surgery just prior to the team’s Week 1 season opener in Cleveland; he was given a six-to-eight-week recovery estimate at the time.

Even though it was now been nine weeks, Bland is still no lock to play Sunday when the Cowboys travel to Atlanta to face the Falcons.

His 21-day practice window was opened on Oct. 9, meaning the team had until the end of business to move him to either the active roster or season-ending injured reserve.

Bland was slated to spend the day’s practice working with the rehab group, according to head coach Mike McCarthy.

“We’re not going to put him out there until he’s ready to go,” McCarthy told reporters during his Wednesday press conference.

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The Cowboys will need someone ready to go at cornerback in very short order, though. Veteran Trevon Diggs did not practice Wednesday with what is being classified as a calf issue, and thanks to a shoulder injury, rookie Caelen Carson hasn’t played since Week 3’s loss to Baltimore.

And now Oruwariye has been shelved as well.

The onetime Detroit Lion and Jacksonville Jaguar, signed to the Cowboys just days after Bland’s foot procedure, made his first appearance for Dallas in Week 4 and logged an interception for the club in that Thursday night’s 20-15 win.

The 28-year-old Penn State product played almost every defensive snap over the Cowboys’ next two games against Detroit and Pittsburgh. Late in the third quarter of Sunday’s contest, he appeared to take a knee in the back during a block from 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk.

Oruwariye will have to miss at least four games before he may return to action. He will be lost until Thanksgiving, at the earliest.

The Cowboys currently have just four interceptions on the year. This week, they’ll go up against a Falcons offense that ranks third in the NFL in passing yards.

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Cowboys 54-Man Roster Moves: Bland not activated, 2 key elevations vs Lions

The Dallas Cowboys will not get to see the debut of the Diggs-DaRon Boundary Duo vs Detroit after all. After it appeared All-Pro cornerback DaRon Bland was trending towards making his season debut this week, he missed practice on Friday. On …

The Dallas Cowboys will not get to see the debut of the Diggs-DaRon Boundary Duo vs Detroit after all. After it appeared All-Pro cornerback DaRon Bland was trending towards making his season debut this week, he missed practice on Friday. On Saturday, the club decided not to activate him from IR, delaying his return until at the earliest Week 8 against the San Francisco 49ers. Dallas has a bye following their Sunday contest against the Lions.

Bland has been out since having foot surgery late in the offseason and missed Friday after being a full participant on both Wednesday and Thursday. The Cowboys will be without their top four edge rushers as well; with Sam Williams, DeMarcus Lawrence and Marshawn Kneeland all on IR and Micah Parsons ruled out despite remaining on the active roster.

The Cowboys are elevating two players from the practice squad; cornerback Amani Oruwariye and LB Darius Harris. Oruwariye will make his third-straight appearance, the max for the club without bringing him up to the main roster. Harris is necessary as starting LB Eric Kendricks was ruled out with a back injury.

As it stands, here is the 54-man roster Dallas will go into Sunday with, when they will announce six inactive players about an hour and a half ahead of the game.

Dak Prescott
Cooper Rush
Trey Lance

Rico Dowdle
Ezekiel Elliott
Hunter Luepke
Deuce Vaughn

Jake Ferguson
Luke Schoonmaker
John Stephens, Jr.
Brevyn Spann-Ford

CeeDee Lamb
Jalen Tolbert
Kavontae Turpin
Jalen Brooks
Ryan Flournoy

Tyler Guyton
Terence Steele
Asim Richards
Matt Waletzko

Zack Martin
Tyler Smith
TJ Bass

Cooper Beebe
Brock Hoffman

Micah Parsons (out)
Chauncey Golston
Tyrus Wheat
Carl Lawson

Osa Odighizuwa
Mazi Smith
Linval Joseph
Carlos Watkins

Eric Kendricks (out)
DeMarvion Overshown
Damone Clark
Marist Liufau
Buddy Johnson
Nick Vigil
Darius Harris (1st of 3 elevations)

Trevon Diggs
Jourdan Lewis
Caelen Carson
Israel Mukuamu
Andrew Booth
Amani Oruwariye (3rd of 3 elevations)

Malik Hooker
Donovan Wilson
Juanyeh Thomas
Markquese Bell

Brandon Aubrey
Bryan Anger
Trent Sieg
CJ Goodwin

Cowboys 53-man roster after signing DE, flurry of moves for Week 6 vs Lions

The Dallas Cowboys had their busiest roster day of the season on Wednesday, making necessary changes thanks to the rash of injuries they’ve faced in recent weeks. The team continues to go through it at the defensive end position, moving second-round …

The Dallas Cowboys had their busiest roster day of the season on Wednesday, making necessary changes thanks to the rash of injuries they’ve faced in recent weeks. The team continues to go through it at the defensive end position, moving second-round rookie Marshawn Kneeland to the Reserve/Injured list where he joins DeMarcus Lawrence and Sam Williams. Kneeland suffered a meniscus tear and will miss a significant portion, but not all, of the season. Similar to Lawrence, he is expected to be back for the playoff push.

Meanwhile, the team has welcomed back All-Pro cornerback DaRon Bland to practice as he has been designated to return, opening up his 21-day practice window. Listed a full participant on Wednesday’s practice report, there appears a chance for him to be activated this week ahead of their game against the Detroit Lions. Those were just two of five moves the club made.

The Cowboys signed DE Carl Lawson to the 53-man roster after elevating him from the practice squad a maximum of three times in the last three weeks. He’s played 52 defensive snaps over the last two weeks and was in on a sack of Steelers QB Justin Fields in Week 5. Filling his space on the practice squad is DE Luiji Vilain a 2022 UDFA who has played for Minnesota and Carolina. Also added to the practice squad is WR Seth Williams, a 2021 Denver Broncos’ sixth-round pick.

Each player on the practice squad can be called up to the big roster a total of 3 times and still revert back to the practice squad following the game without being released to the open market or waivers.

Each team can elevate two players per week through the regular season.

Elevations Remaining: 3

Elevations Remaining: 3

Elevations Remaining: 1 (Elevated in Week 4, Week 5)

Elevations Remaining: 3

Elevations Remaining: 3

Elevations Remaining: 3

Elevations Remaining: 3

Elevations Remaining: 3

Elevations Remaining: 3

Elevations Remaining: 3

Elevations Remaining: 3

Elevations Remaining: 3

Elevations Remaining: 2 (Elevated Week 2)

Elevations Remaining: 3

Elevations Remaining: 3

Bland was designated to return ahead of Week 6, with his 21-day activation window starting October 9.

Placed on IR in Week 5, eligible to have activation window opened Week 10.

Placed on IR in Week 5, eligible to have activation window opened Week 10.

Eligible to be have activation window opened in Week 11.

Jordan Phillips (wrist) was placed on IR ahead of Week 3. He’s eligible to return prior to Week 7, Dallas’ bye week.

Earliest return date: Week 5

Williams is out for the entire year.

Thomas was placed on IR before the initial 53, so he’s done for the year.

Bostick was placed on IR in training camp so he’s done for the year.

All-Pro Cowboys CB Daron Bland now has timeline on return

Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland underwent successful surgery to repair the stress fracture on his foot. | From @ArmyChiefW3

Lost in the shuffle of seemingly endless roster moves throughout the NFL, Cowboys All-Pro cornerback DaRon Bland underwent successful surgery to repair the stress fracture on his foot on Monday. Dallas estimates his recovery time to be around six to eight weeks, and now that the surgery is complete, the clock on his return can be started.

The short end of the spectrum would have him return for Sunday Night Football on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 5.

With roster gymnastics already underway, Bland appears destined to be one of two players the Cowboys place on injured reserve designated to return. NFL teams can do this without burning spots on the initial 53-man roster. That would keep him off the roster for a minimum of the first four weeks of the regular season.

Cowboys fans will have to wait before getting to see their pair of All-Pro corners play opposite each other. CB Trevon Diggs was lost for the season last year after he tore his left ACL in practice. The pair have only suited for 19 games together with 17 of those coming in 2022, Bland’s rookie season.

In two seasons, the injured cornerback has already accumulated 14 interceptions.

Bland led the league in interceptions last season with nine, including a record-breaking five returned for a touchdown. Standout rookie fourth-round cornerback Caelon Carson is expected to replace him for the time being.

Those expecting a correlating roster move may be surprised as Cowboys owner Jerry Jones doesn’t anticipate any additions to the current group.

“Not at all, not in any way,” Jones said. “Not at all. The good news is that we have some guys that have played well in camp. We won’t be looking at all.”

Jones’s comments may suggest that the team expects a return closer to the six-week mark rather than two full months.

Week 7 is Dallas’ scheduled bye week giving the team a few options for his return. The Cowboys could have him play week six against the Lions and use the bye week to see how his foot responds.

The team could opt to wait to activate him before their Week 8 matchup against the 49ers in an effort to give him extra time to heal.

Cowboys CB Caelen Carson potentially gets big, but not unexpected, opportunity

CB injuries are inevitable so it’s safe to assume the Cowboys were prepared for Caelen Carson to fill in, says @ReidDHanson.

“We won’t be looking at all,” Jerry Jones bluntly stated when asked about looking to the veteran market to fill the Cowboys needs at the cornerback position. DaRon Bland, now out the next 6-8 weeks, created such needs when he suffered a foot fracture in training camp.

Finding a temporary running mate for Trevon Diggs at CB is something the Cowboys have suddenly been tasked with. Bland was expected to start opposite Diggs with veteran Jourdan Lewis manning the slot. Dallas is now required to initiate Plan B for at least the first four games of the new season. That plan B is likely to be rookie Caelen Carson.

Many times, team will elevate their nickel CBs to cover sudden needs on the outside. That doesn’t appear to be the strategy in Dallas. With Lewis, the Cowboys prefer to keep their nickel man in the nickel position. And based on statements from Jones, they also prefer to avoid the veteran market and fill the outside job from within.

Lucky for them they have Carson, their standout rookie fifth rounder, available to slide into Bland’s temporarily vacated spot. Carson impressed onlookers throughout training camp and into the preseason. He looked like the next great mid-rounder of the Cowboys and the favorite for the CB4 job heading into the 2024 season.

It may not sound like much landing fourth on the CB depth chart, but in Dallas, CB4 is far from a reserve role. Between injuries and rotations, over the last two seasons the CB4 has averaged 664 defensive snaps in Dallas. It was almost inevitable Carson would see a start here or there in 2024. It might not have been right away in Week 1, but it was likely to be coming.

Carson’s expected entry into the starting lineup was something the Cowboys have been prepared for. They know the score and they understand their track record at the CB position. It’s why Jones is so confident in his team’s ability to man the post while Bland recovers and it’s why Cowboys fans should feel confident under these less-than-ideal circumstances.

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Breaking: Cowboys All-Pro CB DaRon Bland to miss significant time with foot fracture

From @ToddBrock24f7: Last year’s INT leader experienced discomfort last week; tests showed a stress fracture. Bland will undergo surgery to repair the damage.

The injury bug has taken a nasty bite out of the Cowboys’ starting roster just as the preseason comes to an end.

Starting cornerback DaRon Bland will miss six to eight weeks with a stress fracture in his foot, according to a report from Nick Eatman of dallascowboys.com.

The third-year defensive back, who just last year broke the NFL’s all-time single-season record for interception touchdown returns, apparently began experiencing discomfort on Wednesday.

NFL insider Tom Pelissero went on indicate that Bland will undergo surgery to repair the break, which was confirmed after imaging tests.

A fifth-round draft pick out of Fresno State in 2022, Bland notched five interceptions as a rookie. He was then thrust into a starting role last season following Trevon Diggs’s ACL tear and finished with a league-leading nine picks. Five of them were returned for touchdowns. Bland was named a first-team All-Pro for his efforts.

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The injury will further delay getting Diggs and Bland on the field together again, but the Cowboys believe they’ll be in decent shape. Jourdan Lewis remains with the team in his eighth pro campaign, and rookie Caelen Carson turned in a very strong camp. Eric Scott Jr. and newly-acquired veteran Andrew Booth Jr. are also in the mix to make the team’s 53-man roster, along with Kemon Hall, Josh Butler, and Josh DeBerry.

“We’re in great shape at corner because of our young guys coming in,” team owner Jerry Jones said on Dallas radio, per The Athletic‘s Jon Machota. “That’s one of the strengths of our whole team. Our secondary is outstanding.”

The Cowboys’ first eight opponents include several dangerous teams with potent passing attacks: the Browns, Saints, Ravens, Giants, Steelers, Lions, 49ers, and Falcons.

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Browns set to dodge All-Pro CB in Week 1 matchup vs. Cowboys

That’s one less All-Pro for the Browns to prepare for Week 1.

The Week 1 matchup between the Cleveland Browns and Dallas Cowboys just got more interesting as All-Pro cornerback DaRon Bland is set to miss the season opener.

The All-Pro cornerback Bland will undergo surgery for a stress fracture in his foot, making him unavailable for the start of the regular season. The surgery is expected to sideline Bland for six to eight weeks per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

In his second year, the fifth round pick was one of the league’s best corners with nine interceptions and five returned for touchdowns. The surgery leaves the Cowboys with Caelen Carson and Josh Butler as the immediate replacements for the 2023 interception leader. If they didn’t already, the Cowboys will now have their hands full trying to guard the skillful Browns receivers.

The Browns will be expected to take advantage of any defensive gaps they may be able to find against the powerful Cowboys defense. They will still have to account for players like Trevon Diggs and Micah Parsons. As week 1 approaches, it will be interesting to see how the Cowboys respond to DaRon Blands’ injury before their matchup in Cleveland.

Cowboys will play Saints in Week 2 without one of their best defenders

The Cowboys will play the Saints in Week 2 without one of their best defenders. Cornerback DaRon Bland is undergoing foot surgery:

This could be big. ESPN’s Todd Archer reports that the Dallas Cowboys will be without star cornerback DaRon Bland for six to eight weeks while he recovers from surgery to repair a stress fracture in his foot. It’s a similar injury to the one Juwan Johnson dealt with this offseason. That means they’ll be missing one of their best defenders when the New Orleans Saints visit AT&T Stadium in Week 2.

Bland won Pro Bowl and All-Pro recognition in 2023 after leading the NFL with interceptions (9), interception return yards (209), and pick-sixes (5). That’s after he picked off five passes in his 2022 rookie year. So he’ll be missed in the Cowboys secondary.

But can the Saints capitalize on that absence? They caught a number of opponents at a bad time in 2023 but couldn’t take advantage of those mismatches. They were swatted aside by a Minnesota Vikings team missing both Justin Jefferson and Kirk Cousins without much trouble. If Dennis Allen’s squad can’t move the ball against a Dallas defense working without one of their best playmakers, he and his team will continue to be haunted by the same narratives.

This is going to be an opportunity to knock off a good team facing adversity. Allen and the Saints must capitalize on it. Kickoff is scheduled for Sept. 15 at Noon CT/1 p.m. ET.

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Toolsy: Pick-6 King, Cowboys’ Bland beats Jets CB Gardner in NFL Top 100

The Pick-Six King is acknowledged not just for his stellar season, but what should be ahead for the dazzling playmaker. | From @KDDrummondNFL

There won’t be any “Yo Momma” jokes about gardening tools here, that’s for sure. The tool, in this case a pick, is more valuable than the gardener as the NFL continues their Top 100 player list rollout with numbers 40 through 31. The Dallas Cowboys have had just one player named thus far, with Zack Martin checking in at No. 53. That’s a little wild considering the play of DeMarcus Lawrence and the fact that Trevon Diggs is expected back for a full season and he ranked 60th and 23rd entering the prior two seasons.

Their total should rise considerably in the next few days, starting with Tuesday’s announcement that cornerback DaRon Bland placed No. 31. His placement comes with him landing ahead of the more renowned cornerback of the New York Jets, Sauce Gardner.

Gardner is widely considered the top young corner in the game, rightfully anointed based off collegiate film and draftnik takes. However there’s always going to be Day 3 guys who were slept on for whatever reason who end up making just as big of a name for themselves. That’s Bland, the 2022 fifth-round pick who followed up an impressive rookie campaign with five interceptions in just half a season, by leading the league in picks (9).

More importantly is what Bland did once he got the ball, setting the NFL all-time record with five touchdowns, making him the Pick-6 King.

The NFL’s pick-six king ranks just one spot off the number of points he scored last season. Dallas’ defense easily could have folded after cornerback Trevon Diggs tore his ACL during a Week 3 practice. Instead, players like Bland stepped up to power a fifth-ranked scoring unit. The second-year CB led the league with nine interceptions, and he set an NFL single-season record during a Thanksgiving Day blowout in which he dazzled with his fifth pick-six of the year.

Bland isn’t slowing down, either, as he may have taken a step forward with accolades from training camp raining in from all onlookers.

Dallas will likely end up with five players in the top 60, with Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons having yet to be named, with a possible sixth if left guard Tyler Smith is valued league-wide the way he should be.

Criticism of Cowboys’ corners Diggs, Bland overblown, but not without merit

The Cowboys dynamic duo will need to tighten up under Mike Zimmer but not as much as some think, finds @ReidDHanson.

The Cowboys have two of the most thrilling and dynamic cornerbacks in the NFL. Trevon Diggs, who in 2021 posted the first 11-interception season since Everson Walls in 1981, and DaRon Bland, last season’s interception leader (9) and all-time NFL record holder of the most interceptions returned for touchdown in a single season, are possibly the best ballhawks in the game.

Both players have the ability to shift the balance of a contest in a single play and both play with the versatility and confidence required to match up against the best receivers, week after week. In an era where the passing game dictates winners and losers more than any other facet of the game, it’s a tremendously valuable advantage for Dallas to have. However the Cowboys’ dynamic duo isn’t without their warts.

A primary reason the two players have thrived in the turnover department is because they’ve been targeted so freely. And they’ve been targeted because they often allow separation in coverage, leading to a fair number of wide-open catches and big plays for the opposing offense.

When asked to rank the NFL’s secondaries heading into 2024, Pro Football Focus slotted the Cowboys in the middle of the league at No. 13. The reason cited was their boom-or-bust style of play CB because they “give up a ton of separation and big plays for the payoff of the interception.”

As many may recall, Diggs infamously broke the grading scale in 2021 when he posted his All-Pro season. From a film study perspective, the separation he allowed was impossible to ignore, even if he limited opponents to decisively negative EPA/play when targeted. His film graded 80th in a pool of 116 CBs that season shedding light on everything that was wrong with traditional grading such as PFF’s and other scouting agencies’.

PFF recently hailed Darius Slay as the separation stopping king of 2023. At a tight coverage rate of 35.0% Slay finished No. 1 in the NFL in reducing separation. Yet in an act that almost seems contradictory to the Diggs-Bland critique, PFF only gave this their separation stopping king a 65.4 coverage grade and a No. 55 overall ranking on the CB score chart. Apparently, the tightest coverage in the league wasn’t enough for Slay to score a good film grade.

As if that wasn’t confusing enough, DaRon Bland, who was disparaged for the separation he supposedly allows, graded No. 2 overall in CB grade. It seems as if the narrative didn’t fit the reality because Bland quietly made PFF’s top-10 list in tight coverage rate as well, tying for seventh overall in 2023 at 30.0%.

Unlike Slay, he turned that tight coverage into a positive grade, proving there is much more to the CB position than simply providing tight coverage. It appears the “separation allowed” argument isn’t quite so valid or quite so consequential as it’s made to believe.

That doesn’t mean it isn’t important. And that doesn’t mean Mike Zimmer isn’t going to focus on consistent tight coverage in 2024. In offseason discussions, Zimmer has already prepped Cowboys Nation for a reduction in interception numbers.

The reason Diggs and Bland seemed so boom-or-bust is partially because of the Cowboys system. Dan Quinn employed more of a high-risk, high-reward secondary than Zimmer traditionally plays with. Quinn was willing to give up more plays because he knew his guys would return the favor and take big plays of their own. Zimmer is less inclined to do that.

The system itself is designed to limit big plays. Zimmer plays far more 2-deep safety coverage than Quinn because he likes to keep plays in front of him. It’s reasonable to assume he’s going to ask his dynamic duo to play a little less loose and a little more disciplined in 2024. Whether that’s best for the Cowboys defense or not remains to be seen, but separation is a big deal in his system because separation is directly related to big plays.

But as the numbers show, separation isn’t everything and finding the right balance in coverage is the key to success.

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