The Cowboys Are Putting DaRon Bland In A VERY Uncomfortable Situation...

AtoZ Sports

Mauricio Rodriguez talks about the latest updates surrounding All-Pro CB DaRon Bland, as he is set to seek a contract extension from the Dallas Cowboys very soon. However, Dallas is making him uncomfortable, early on in the process.

Transcript

00:00So the Dallas Cowboys are putting one of their best players in a very uncomfortable situation.

00:10Hey, what's up everyone? It's Mauricio Rodriguez here at ADZ Sports Dallas. Today we are talking

00:16Cowboys OTAs because we are in the second week of the Cowboys voluntary practices and there's

00:23some little things that we are learning as things go along. Now mind you, and this is an important

00:29disclaimer, this is not training camp. So a lot of the takeaways that you see from insiders,

00:34from reporters, from players, from coaches, you know, they're experimenting. They're not doing

00:39anything that is going to be final decisions or anything like that, right? So if a player is

00:44playing in a certain spot, it isn't exactly the biggest of deals. It is just stuff they are trying

00:50out. And I am talking about first team old pro cornerback, Mr. The Ron Bland. You and I both know

00:58how good Bland is, right? He started as a rookie eight games and he was pretty successful even as

01:05a fifth rounder. One year later in 2023, he sets the NFL record for most pick sixes in a single season

01:12while he also intercepts just nine passes in total. And then in 2024, he continued to play at a very

01:19high level. He is honestly looking like one of the best young cornerbacks in the entire league.

01:25And going into 2025, it is the biggest year of his career. Why? Because he's entering his first

01:31ever contract year and a lot of money could hinge in how he performs this season. You're talking about

01:38a guy that if he plays another dominant season of football, he could be in the mix to become one of

01:44the highest paid cornerbacks in the entire league. And this is where the OTA situation comes in because

01:50it turns out that the Cowboys have been playing him a lot in the slot. And in fact, according to

01:55DallasCowboys.com, Tommy Jarish, he actually spent the majority of the time working in the slot when

02:02the Cowboys were running team drills. And again, this is only OTAs. So we cannot take this out of

02:09proportion and say that, oh, the Cowboys are doing him wrong or something like that. But what is true

02:14is that this has to be an awkward spot for Jordan Lewis. I mean, just look at the financials. If

02:19you look at the highest paid cornerback in the entire NFL, that's Derek Stingley at $30 million

02:24per year. There's another six guys that make over $20 million per year. There's a big difference though

02:32from all of those players compared to the highest paid nickels in the game. And if you remember when

02:38the Jaguars signed Jordan Lewis in free agency, he signed to a $30 million deal over three years,

02:45that's $10 million in average. And he was basically named the highest paid nickel in the entire NFL.

02:53You're talking about half or double the salary for a player that plays on the outside or plays on the

02:58inside. I'm sorry, but no one can convince me that Bland doesn't care about spending so much time in

03:04the slot when he knows it is a contract year for him. In fact, Clarence Hill from Old City, Dallas

03:10tweeted that shoddy says he understands Bland's hesitancy to play in the slot in a contract year,

03:16but it is still early and they don't have older guys out there, which is a crucial aspect of this

03:21narrative, right? Trevon Diggs is not practicing because he's fighting back from injury. So is

03:26Kaelin Carson. So is third round rookie, Savon Rebell Jr. And that is a big part of this storyline,

03:31right? Trevon Diggs is not healthy and he's not practicing. Savon Rebell Jr. The same,

03:36Kaelin Carson, the same. Once training camp comes around and that Rebell Jr. and Carson come back,

03:42I don't think Diggs will be back by training camp even. Let's see how they deploy them. Let's see

03:46what they do in the secondary. According to Schottenheimer, he wants to run the best five

03:50and maybe there's a world in which Bland does go on the outside. But it's interesting to note that

03:56right now they're working inside and that could have a major impact on Bland's finances moving

04:02forward.

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