DaRon Bland will miss the start of the season for the Dallas Cowboys this fall.
The cornerback sustained a stress fracture in his foot during training camp in Southern California earlier this week, the team announced ahead of their final preseason game on Saturday. He is set to undergo surgery in the coming days, and will be sidelined for up to eight weeks.
From the Cowboys: DaRon Bland experienced foot discomfort on Wednesday of last week during training camp in Oxnard. Subsequent imaging revealed a stress fracture in his foot. He will undergo surgery to repair the injury and is currently projected to be out for 6-8 weeks.
— Calvin Watkins (@calvinwatkins) August 24, 2024
Based on that timeline, Bland will miss at least the first four games of the season for the Cowboys. If he’s able to return in just six weeks, he could be back on the field in time for their game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Oct. 6.
Bland is entering his third season in the league this fall. The 25-year-old had a league-high nine interceptions last season with the Cowboys, five of which he returned for touchdowns. He also had a career-high 69 total tackles, and helped keep the Dallas defense on track after star cornerback Trevon Diggs tore his ACL early last fall.
Diggs, who missed 15 games last season, returned to full team drills at training camp this fall and is on track to start the season. The Cowboys will likely lean on Jourdan Lewis and newcomers Caelen Carson and Andrew Booth to help pick up the slack without Bland to start the year.
The Cowboys went 12-5 last season and won the NFC East for a second time in the past three years. They were knocked out of the wild-card round of the playoffs. Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn left the Cowboys after last season to take over as the Washington Commanders head coach, which led Dallas to hire former Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer to replace him.
The Cowboys will open the season against the Cleveland Browns on Sept. 8.
