What happened to DaRon Bland? Cowboys CB out 6-8 weeks with major injury

The hits keep on coming for the Dallas Cowboys, and not in a good way. News broke on Saturday, August 24, that the Cowboys' star cornerback DaRon Bland has suffered a stress fracture in his foot.

Bland will now undergo surgery and is set to miss a minimum of six weeks, dealing the Cowboys a major blow in what will be Mike Zimmer's first year as defensive coordinator in Dallas.

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DaRon Bland injury comes as a nightmare for Cowboys

There were high hopes for the Cowboys defense this year, especially after Mike Zimmer was confirmed as defensive coordinator to replace Dan Quinn, who is now the head coach of the Washington Commanders.

Zimmer will now have a fresh headache to deal with, considering many tipped Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland to be among the NFL's top CB-duo. The Cowboys also stopped short of bringing Stephon Gilmore back this year. Gilmore eventually signed with the Minnesota Vikings, which is bad timing for the Cowboys since they could use some help to plug that gap as we inch closer to the regular season.

Jerry Jones spoke about Bland's status soon after the details were released on the CB's injury.

"The good news is he'll be here for the vital games at the end. He'll be out about 4-5 weeks to start the season." said Cowboys owner Jerry Jones

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NFC Wild Card Playoffs - Green Bay Packers v Dallas Cowboys - Source: Getty

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What Cowboys depth chart looks like after DaRon Bland's injury

The Cowboys will now have to turn to fifth-round pick Caelen Carson, who is listed behind Bland, and ex-Vikings corner Andrew Booth, whom the Cowboys traded for earlier this month.

While they do have replacements in-house to hold the fort down, there's no doubt that Bland's lockdown talents will be missed.

Bland was among the Cowboys' standout performers over the past two years. He racked up 14 INTs from 2022-2023 which includes a league-high nine interceptions, five of which were returned for touchdowns - a single-season pick-six record. Bland wrote himself into the history books on Thanksgiving Day last year on a 63-yard return.

Bland's stats earned him an All-Pro and a Pro Bowl selection last season as he filled in more than admirably for Trevon Diggs, who missed most of last year with an ACL injury.

As part of the CBA, Bland's numbers earned him nearly $800,000 as a bonus.