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Todd Archer, ESPN Staff Writer
ARLINGTON, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys will be without All-Pro cornerback DaRon Bland for six to eight weeks because of a stress fracture in his left foot.
If he follows the timeline, Bland could return in mid-October, which might cost him the first five or six games. The Cowboys have their bye week Oct. 20.
Bland will undergo surgery on his fifth metatarsal Monday, according to a source, after reporting soreness following the Cowboys’ final practice while in Oxnard, California. A year ago, Bland led the NFL with nine interceptions and set a league record by turning five of them into pick-sixes en route to earning Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors.
“I’m glad it’s not for an extended period of time and so we lose him four or five ballgames,” owner and general manager Jerry Jones said after the Cowboys ended the preseason with a 26-19 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers at AT&T Stadium. “It’s serious, but the good news is we’re going to have him for the meat of the deal. That’s the good news.”
The Cowboys will not look for cornerback help during the final cut-down process to the 53-man roster, Jones said.
“The good news is we’ve got some guys that have really shown well in camp,” he said. “We won’t be looking at all.”
The Cowboys will welcome back Pro Bowl and All-Pro cornerback Trevon Diggs to the lineup for the Sept. 8 opener against the Cleveland Browns after he missed the final 15 games last season because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Diggs returned to full team drills for the last two weeks of training camp.
Without Bland, the Cowboys have Diggs as well as Jourdan Lewis, who had a strong camp, working the slot. While Lewis has experience playing outside, the Cowboys could look to fifth-round pick Caelen Carson or Andrew Booth, whom they acquired from the Minnesota Vikings during training camp.
Carson got off to a fast start in camp but missed a couple of days of work after getting a wisdom tooth removed.
“He was one of the rookies who probably made the quickest first impression as far as playmaking,” coach Mike McCarthy said.
McCarthy added: “You could see right away in the 7-on-7 and so forth his skill set and ball skills, the things we really highlight, the way we like to play. That carried over in training camp when we put the pads on. He’s done a nice job.”
But losing Bland is a blow to new defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer. With Bland and Diggs, the Cowboys believed they had one of the best cornerback pairings in the NFL. Both players have a knack for finding the ball. Bland had 14 interceptions in his first two seasons, while Diggs has 18 in his four-year career, including a league-leading 11 in 2021.
Lewis said the veterans will help Carson get ready for a larger role.
“Just staying prepared, just watching your films, understanding what they like to do and how they use guys in different situations and understanding it’s football at the end of the day,” Lewis said. “Don’t think of it as too much of a big moment. You see those guys making plays on Sundays, but at the end of the day it’s football. Just go out there and see what their scheme is and how they like to use the guy and go out there and be physical like he’s been doing.”
Bland is the second major loss to the defense during training camp. Pass rusher Sam Williams was lost for the season before the team practiced in pads because of a torn ACL in his left knee.
“He was definitely primed for another really good year, so it definitely feels bad that it’s been derailed like this,” Lewis said of Bland. “He had a really good camp, great camp. … It’s definitely feels terrible that he’s missing some weeks, but at the end of the day we still get him back.”
Source: www.espn.com