The Dallas Cowboys' 2025 NFL season has not gone anything remotely according to plan. While Brian Schottenheimer has taken the offense to new heights, Matt Eberflus took a nearly league-worst defense and somehow took a massive step backward.
This was a pivotal year for the Cowboys to have success, as they still had key players like George Pickens, DeMarvion Overshown and Tyler Guyton on rookie deals. This was a year to make a deep playoff push and worry about their daunting 2026 salary cap situation later.
But with Dallas all but mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, they're now facing a brutal reality that they simply cannot afford to keep everyone. DaRon Bland may have cinched himself as one of the players on the outside looking in based on the gutting injury news he just received.
DaRon Bland's latest injury may put his Cowboys future on hold
After appearing on Sunday Night Football against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 15 and playing 54 out of 55 defensive snaps, Bland didn't practice on Wednesday due to a foot injury. It was unknown exactly where or when this occurred, nor was the nature or severity of the ailment known.
However, Cowboys fans got details on that on Thursday evening, and they're not good. According to ESPN's Todd Archer, Bland is facing surgery on his left foot. Yes, the same left foot he had surgery on last year. While he is seeking a second opinion, his season is likely over regardless.
Now, under any other circumstance, given the investment that Dallas made in him, they'd let him recover from the injury. But the Cowboys have -$34 million in cap space next season. And they have to pay Pickens. And probably Guyton. And maybe Overshown, too. And Brandon Aubrey!
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Bland still has some gas in the tank, but it's not disrespectful or inaccurate to say that he hasn't had the same impact as his unforgettable First-Team All-Pro Campaign in 2023. The guy was a magnet for the ball and the opposing team's end zone. Unfortunately, he's now a magnet for the sidelines.
He's still had great outings against teams like the Commanders, Raiders and Chiefs, but just as often, and especially lately, players like Marvin Harrison Jr., Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams have gotten the best of him. Now, he's potentially staring down another long recovery process.
If Dallas does cut him to clear space for other players who are both more impactful and more available at this point, it would be a disappointing end to what looked like a potentially legendary career with the Cowboys.