FRISCO, Texas — Another NFL season for the Cowboys brought forth an unfortunate, continuing trend in Dallas: a major cornerback injury.
However, the Cowboys are looking forward to continuing the positive trend of successfully replacing cornerback production with an internal, young replacement. Then-starting nickel cornerback Jourdan Lewis went down with a Lisfranc foot fracture in 2022, and then-rookie fifth-round pick DaRon Bland came off the bench to haul in five interceptions that season, tied for the fifth most in the league that year. Pro Bowl outside cornerback Trevon Diggs suffered a torn ACL prior to Dallas’ Week 3 game at the Arizona Cardinals in 2023. Bland once again stepped up as a starter, this time on the outside, by leading the NFL with nine interceptions, five of which were pick-sixes — an NFL single-season record.
This year, Bland himself got bit by the injury bug, suffering a stress fracture in his foot at training camp that led to him undergoing surgery to repair. He will be out for 6 to 8 weeks post-operation, which puts him in line to potentially return by Week 4, 5 or 6. Once again, owner and general manager Jerry Jones is refusing to look outside his franchise for help and instead relying on the players he has drafted.
“Not at all,” Jones said after the team’s preseason finale against the Chargers when asked if he is going to look outside the team for cornerback depth. “Not in any way. No, not at all. The good news is we’ve got some guys that have really shown well in camp. We won’t be looking at all.”
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Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/the-next-daron-bland-cowboys-rookie-aims-to-continue-tradition-of-strong-cb-play-as-injury-fill-in-for-dallas/
Author : Garrett Podell
Publish date : 2024-09-04 15:57:07
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