After losing their season opener in primetime to the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles, the Dallas Cowboys are locked in on Week 2. Another divisional opponent, the New York Giants, awaits Dallas on Sunday. Unfortunately, the task of getting that first win just got a bit harder. According to team beat reporter Todd Archer on X (formerly Twitter), cornerback DaRon Bland will miss “a couple of weeks” due to a foot injury.
“The Dallas Cowboys could be without cornerback DaRon Bland for a couple of weeks because of a right foot injury suffered in Monday’s practice, according to multiple sources,” reported Archer.
It's a big blow for the Cowboys' defense. Bland is the team's starting nickelback, a ball hawk that loves to create turnovers. He recently resigned with the team for another four seasons. Dallas rewarded his play with $92 million on that deal. Now, he'll miss the Giants matchup in addition to Week 3's tilt at the Chicago Bears. Can Bland return to the team shortly afterwards, back at full health?
Losing DaRon Bland is another big blow for the Cowboys defense
At the moment, it looks as if 24-year-old Reddy Steward will get the first crack at replacing Bland for at least the next couple of weeks. The outside corners are set with Kaiir Elam and Trevon Diggs. They also have capable backups at those spots, plus the recently acquired Trikweze Bridges, a seventh-rounder in this past April's draft.
Steward saw action with the Chicago Bears last season, notching his first career NFL tackle. He was also with the Minnesota Vikings earlier this year before the Cowboys brought him in via waivers. Now, it looks as if he's slated to replace Bland, at least for now. For both Dallas and their latest resigning, the goal is to get back to 100 percent as quickly as possible. If the nickel corner is back in time for Week 4's home showdown with the Green Bay Packers, then the Cowboys' defense should have a smoother time against a dangerous Packers offense.
