There is potential for the Dallas Cowboys to have one of the best cornerback rooms in the NFL this season. Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland are two elite ball-hawks, while rookie third-round pick Shavon Revel Jr. likely would have been a first-round pick if not for an ACL injury suffered last Setptember. Revel could be cleared in time for training camp.
With Bland entering the final year of his rookie deal, Dallas probably wants to see how he performs a full season removed from a stress fracture in his foot that cost him the first 10 games before they decided on a potential extension.
Diggs, meanwhile, is recovering from his second knee surgery in as many years. The recovery is expected to sideline him for all of training camp and into the regular season. For reasons out of the team's control, his big-money extension has not aged well. Fans are starting to wonder if it'd be smart to extend Bland and cut Diggs lose next year.
Jon Machota of The Athletic took a stab at answering which star CB has the best odds of remaining with the team and his answer might surprise you.
Cowboys have big decision looming with Trevon Diggs, DaRon Bland
"Even though Bland is in the final year of his rookie contract, I see him remaining in Dallas," Machota writes. "So, if I have to pick, I will say him. Diggs is signed through the 2028 season. However, the Cowboys could move on next offseason and take on about $6 million in dead cap money. Had they moved on this offseason, that number would have been closer to $18 million. It depends on how Diggs comes back from the injury. Jerry Jones made it pretty clear following the draft that Diggs has to do a better job rehabbing from this knee injury than he did the previous one."
A lot of Cowboys fans feel the same way. Not because they don't like Diggs, but because it is extremely difficult for cornerbacks to come back from two major knee surgeries. And Jerry Jones revealed after the NFL Draft that the team wasn't happy with how Diggs attacked his ACL rehab.
Related: Cowboys’ Jerry Jones throws Trevon Diggs under the bus right after NFL Draft
"... If he has not worked as hard, he is more subject to injury," Jones said. "He’s learned that one time. I have a lot of hope that his actual rehab and experience from the time before is really helping him out. I think it is.”
The front office has too many players to pay to afford both Diggs and Bland, including pass rusher Micah Parsons, left guard Tyler Smith and kicker Brandon Aubrey.
Bland is only one year removed from an All-Pro season in which he set the NFL record for pick-sixes. The former fifth-round pick looked good after returning from his foot injury. He simply might have a brighter future than Diggs.
If Bland has a strong contract year, it might be in the best interest of the organization to sign him and cut Diggs, who has cap hits of $18.441 million and $23.441 million in 2025 and 2026, respectively.
Regardless, it is a massive year for both players.