Dallas Cowboys All-Pro cornerback DaRon Bland was listed as a full practice participant on Wednesday’s injury report. Bland’s situation has prompted many questions, many of which echo the sentiment: “What exactly is going on?”
Here’s the rundown of Bland’s situation and how to follow the mysterious nature of it. The Cowboys hope it is met with positive clarity this week.
Bland suffered a stress fracture in his foot at the end of training camp and he began the regular season on injured reserve. The expected timeline for Bland to return was six-to-eight weeks. Six weeks would have put his return around the game in Pittsburgh on Oct. 6. Eight weeks would have had him around the bye week, the weekend of Oct. 20.
His return appeared to be right on schedule. The Cowboys designated him to return on Oct. 9, opening his 21-day practice window the week leading into the home game against the Detroit Lions. That day, Bland was a full participant in a Wednesday practice. The next day (Oct. 10), Bland was again a full participant. At that point, the conversation was trending more toward how much Bland would play against the Lions, rather than if he’d play at all.
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That Friday, Bland was listed as a “DNP (did not practice) on the final injury report of the week. His game status was officially listed as questionable. It’s important to point out that the Friday practice in which he did not participate was not an actual practice; it was a walk-through, therefore his DNP label was an estimation. This means Bland didn’t suffer a setback during the practice itself but that his foot did not react favorably that Friday morning to the two days of full practice before it.
Bland was listed as a DNP in practice for the next five weeks. The Cowboys added him to the active roster on Oct. 30, but only because his 21-day return-to-play window had expired, so the option was to either bring him on the 53-man roster or revert him to IR and lose him for the year.
Fast forward to this week: Bland was listed as a full participant Wednesday. It’s important to note that Wednesday was not an actual practice for the Cowboys but it was a walk-through, so Bland’s designation as a full participant is an estimation. It’s still encouraging news, because it means that the soreness in Bland’s foot is much improved, if not completely resolved, but recent history suggests to be careful before jumping to conclusions. The Cowboys practice Thursday, with Bland expected to participate. How he’s listed Friday will be very important.
If he is cleared to return to the field, it will be a significant boost to the Cowboys’ secondary, which has missed Bland dearly and also was without slot cornerback Jourdan Lewis last week (Lewis said he hopes to return this week). The Cowboys play the Commanders on the road Sunday. The game will be played on the FedEx Field surface, which has frequently been criticized by players for the risk of injury.
With three more sacks this season, Dante Fowler will match his career high of 11 1/2. (Geoff Burke / Imagn Images)
Lacking sacks
To give you an idea of how dire the Cowboys’ sack production has been this season, defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence is tied for second on the team in sacks with three. Lawrence hasn’t played since Sept. 26. The Cowboys’ leader in that department is linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, with four sacks. Veteran Carl Lawson and Micah Parsons, who missed four games due to injury, are tied with Lawrence with three sacks apiece.
Meanwhile, Dante Fowler leads the Commanders through 11 games with 8 1/2 sacks. He spent the last two seasons in Dallas and followed Dan Quinn to Washington this past offseason. Dorance Armstrong, the Cowboys’ 2018 fourth-round pick who also followed Quinn to Washington, has three. Armstrong spent his first six seasons in the NFL in Dallas, tallying 5 sacks in 2021, 8 1/2 in 2022 and 7 1/2 sacks in 2023.
It wouldn’t be fair to make this comparison involving Fowler and Armstrong without mentioning the impact of the Cowboys’ injuries. Dallas let those two veterans walk in free agency because they believed Sam Williams was ready to make the jump as a premier pass rusher this season. They drafted Marshawn Kneeland to also be part of that rotation, featuring Parsons and Lawrence. Williams tore his ACL in training camp and was ruled out for the season. Lawrence has played four of the 10 games and a return is not imminent. Parsons missed four games. Kneeland has has spent the last five games on IR, though the Cowboys did open his 21-day window Wednesday. Kneeland was listed as a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice and has the potential to play against the Commanders.
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Dak traveling?
Quarterback Dak Prescott had surgery in New York last week to repair the hamstring he injured in Atlanta on Nov. 3. Prescott was on crutches but in the building at AT&T Stadium on Sunday for the Cowboys’ game against the Houston Texans. Head coach Mike McCarthy said it was unclear if Prescott would be permitted to travel with the team at this stage in his recovery, so his presence at road games is unknown, for the time being.
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(Top photo of Bland: Cooper Neill / Getty Images)
