It's been quite the busy week for the Dallas Cowboys, who traded their best player Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers on Thursday. That move had many wondering what the next big move would be from team owner Jerry Jones ahead of the 2025 season, which is now just days away.
On Sunday, fans got their answer.
“Sources: The #Cowboys and standout CB Daron Bland have agreed to terms on a big new contract extension, as Dallas locks up a key defender,” reported Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network on X, formerly Twitter.
Rapoport also noted that “It’s a 4-year, $92M extension for Bland done by agent Josh Arnold…a deal that includes $50M guaranteed.”
Bland was part of a Dallas defensive unit that took the league by storm two years ago during the 2023 season, constantly forcing interceptions at an elite rate, with Bland setting an NFL record that year for the most pick sixes in a single season with five.
Unfortunately, the Cowboys' defense was obliterated in the playoffs that year by the Packers and performed well below under expectations in 2024. Still, Bland remains one of the game's elite cornerbacks, and Dallas certainly paid him as such with this new deal.
The question many Cowboys fans will be asking in the wake of this news is why the team was willing to extend Bland on a massive contract but not Parsons, who is now preparing to begin his tenure as the newest member of the Packers.
Fans may never know the answer to that question, but the Bland move makes it clear that the Cowboys are by no means considering a rebuild despite trading their best player just as he enters the heart of his prime, something Dallas sports fans have become accustomed to in recent months.
The Cowboys will kick off their season on Thursday against the Philadelphia Eagles.
