It took one game for the Dallas Cowboys to lose one of their best players. Star cornerback DaRon Bland, who signed a big extension right before the season, is doubtful to play Sunday against the Giants due to a foot injury suffered in practice.
Bland could miss multiple games, but it’s not expected to be a long-term injury. The good news: it’s not the same foot that caused him to miss 10 games last year. But with Trevon Diggs still ramping up and Shavon Revel, Josh Butler, and Caelen Carson all sidelined with injuries of their own, things are getting real dicey in the secondary.
Bland's injury gives the front office the perfect excuse to sign a player fans clamored for all offseason: Stephon Gilmore. Well, insider Josina Anderson is hearing that Gilmore is open to a Dallas return.
Stephon Gilmore is reportedly open to a Cowboys reunion
"My expectation is that the Cowboys are expected to work with in-house options to fill the potential extended absence of cornerback DaRon Bland... I'm also told free agent CB Stephon Gilmore is open to rejoining the Cowboys - while weighing other potential options - should Dallas consider free agent CB options to add to its secondary."
It's no surprise the Cowboys will look internally to fill the void. The Giants aren't a great litmus test for the remaining healthy CBs, but perhaps Dallas will look deeper into signing Gilmore if the secondary struggles in Bland's absence.
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With the ability to play outside and in the nickel, Bland's versatility allows the Cowboys to get their three best corners on the field. Without him, that group consists of Trevon Diggs and Kaiir Elam out wide, and either Reddy Steward, who’s only played in one game, or undrafted rookie Zion Childress in the slot. Childress is expected to be promoted from the practice squad regardless, but he has zero NFL experience.
Signing Gilmore would solve all of that. While he's largely played out wide in his career, he has experience in the nickel. He logged 56 snaps inside with Dallas in 2023. The Cowboys had Jourdan Lewis healthy for 16 games that year, so there was no need to play Gilmore in the slot.
As always, money will be a sticking point for Jerry and Stephen Jones. However, that is no longer a viable excuse with the savings created from trading Micah Parsons. The Cowboys have the second-most cap space in the NFL at $38.442 million, per Over The Cap.
Gilmore visited The Star over the summer, so the tires have already been kicked. Now that it's confirmed he’s open to rejoining Dallas, the Joneses have no excuse not to get this done.