6 Cowboys on Thin Ice Heading Into the Offseason
5. DaRon Bland, Cornerback
How is anyone supposed to perceive DaRon Bland after this season? Bland was named a first-team All-Pro by the Associated Press after picking off nine passes and returning five of them for touchdowns.
And he undoubtedly deserves a ton of credit and recognition for doing that. It's hard for some cornerbacks to even get one interception in a season, and Bland had nine of them. And not only did he have nine picks, but he scored five touchdowns. He had more touchdowns this past season than some notable wide receivers.
It was truly an incredible season for Bland, at least from that perspective. But on the other hand, he had a bit of "feast or famine" to his game that deserves plenty of criticism going forward. Bland allowed a boatload of yards against the Packers, and he nearly cost the Cowboys a crucial regular season win against the Seattle Seahawks as Geno Smith was picking on him for four straight quarters.
Daron Bland has 3 games this season where he gave up over 100 yards (110 vs WAS, 119 vs DET, 169 vs SEA)
— Robby (@Robby_NFL) January 12, 2024
Two games where he gave up 8 receptions and against Seattle he gave up two TDs.
Top 2 corner in the league this season though I guess
And that's why Bland is on thin ice for the Cowboys going into this offseason. The Cowboys are staring at an offseason where Stephon Gilmore is hitting free agency, Trevon Diggs is coming off of injury, and slot corner Jourdan Lewis is also a free agent.
Can the Cowboys really build around Bland at outside corner especially if Dan Quinn isn't back as coordinator?