DaRon Bland is dealing with a foot injury for the second straight season.
FRISCO, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys could be without cornerback DaRon Bland for a couple of weeks because of a right foot injury suffered in Monday’s practice, sources told ESPN.
Bland did not practice Wednesday, but the injury is unrelated to the foot issue that limited him to seven games last season. Last year, Bland dealt with a stress fracture in his left foot that required surgery.
This injury is not considered as serious, but his absence comes while Trevon Diggs is still ramping up his work after undergoing left knee surgery in January and the Cowboys lack proven depth at the position.
Bland signed a four-year, $92 million extension on Aug. 31 that included $50 million guaranteed. He was credited with four tackles and a quarterback hurry in the season-opening loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 4.
Dallas kicked the tires on the veteran pass rusher.
The Dallas Cowboys are in the market for pass rush help following the Micah Parsons trade, and they are showing interest in signing a former No. 1 overall pick. The Cowboys hosted Jadeveon Clowney on Wednesday but no immediate signing is taking place, according to NFL Media.
Clowney, 32, spent the 2024 season with the Carolina Panthers, and recorded 46 combined tackles, 5.5 sacks, 11 QB hits and nine tackles for loss in 14 games played. It was a homecoming in a way, as the Rock Hill native played his college ball at South Carolina, and even had his No. 7 retired in Columbia.
Clowney is just two years removed from a highly productive season, as he tied a career high with 9.5 sacks for the Baltimore Ravens in 2023.
Trevon Diggs ‘felt good’ in return for Cowboys, still ramping up – Tommy Yarrish, DallasCowboys.com
Trevon Diggs is getting back to his old self.
FRISCO, Texas – After 269 days of waiting, Cowboys CB Trevon Diggs finally got make his return to the field last Thursday against the Philadelphia Eagles, albeit for 26 snaps.
No matter how many snaps he got, the sixth-year corner was more than happy to be back on the field.
“It felt good,” Diggs said of his return. “Thankful, blessed to just go out there and be with my teammates competing. I missed it a lot being out all the time I was, so it was a blessing just to be out there.”
Throughout the whole process, it wasn’t one that Diggs or the Cowboys wanted to rush given it being the second big knee injury he’s suffered in as many years. His pitch count last Thursday was expected, and he wants to continue to take steps before rushing back to being on the field full-time in order to prevent another injury.
“Still working,” Diggs said. “Just a little bit more [snaps] than last week is best and the smartest and safest thing to do. I feel like just increasing it a couple more plays and just working my way slowly.”
The physical hurdle of recovering from knee injuries at any position in football is one thing. The other hurdle that Diggs is still clearing is the mental one, which requires being confident in your knee and playing free, and he feels that he’s getting over that hurdle during practice.”
“I have to be in order to get over that,” Diggs said when asked about his confidence. “Just doing everything fast, putting my foot in the ground, just driving just to take that fear away and I feel like I do that in practice a lot.”
Tyler Guyton will be a little lighter in the pockets after this incident.
Second-year man Tyler Guyton had a mixed bag of a night on Thursday in Philadelphia.
On the one hand, he and the rest of the Cowboys offensive line allowed zero sacks of quarterback Dak Prescott in the 24-20 loss. On the other hand, though, PFF graded him out at 61st place– out of 64 offensive tackles leaguewide- after Week 1 action was complete.
The 2024 first-round draft pick did enjoy a somewhat viral moment for a play in which he gave a vicious head slap to Eagles linebacker Jalyx Hunt… but now it looks like that one swing will cost the 24-year-old a decent chunk of change.
The NFL has fined Guyton $12,172 for the play, calling it unsportsmanlike conduct. The incident did not draw a penalty flag on the field during the game, with some theorizing that Guyton’s open hand as he swung his left arm likely made the move a failed shove block as opposed to a deliberate punch.
Guyton has said he did not intend to deliver a head shot on the play, but he was absolutely trying to bring violent physicality to his game Thursday night.
Mazi Smith sat out Cowboys’ opener as healthy scratch. Will it happen again in Week 2 – Joseph Hoyt, Dallas Morning News
Mazi Smith being active against the Giants is still in question.
FRISCO — Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Mazi Smith was a healthy scratch for the season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles. That could be the start of a trend.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones intimated that could be the case again during his weekly radio show on Tuesday on 105.3 The Fan (KRLD-FM).
“My guess would be that it would look pretty similar to last weekend,” Jones said.
Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer was asked about Jones’ projection for Smith, their 2023 first-round pick out of Michigan. The projection, Schottenheimer claimed, was exactly that.
“I think at the end of the day, we’re going to have three great practices this week,” Schottenheimer said when asked about Jones’ comments on Smith, “and we have a projected list of how we think this thing can play out and what we think. But it’s projection and you don’t know. We’re in pads today and we’re running around. And hopefully we come out of it clean and all that stuff. These guys have the opportunity to earn their spots.”
If Smith is going to earn that spot, it starts with being more consistent in the eyes of the coaches. Schottenheimer has been adamant about Smith’s lack of consistency since the start of training camp. He’s pointed to consistency as a reason other players haven’t appeared.
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