DaRon Bland Activated to Cowboys Roster Ahead of Falcons Game After Foot Injury

The Dallas Cowboys announced Wednesday that they activated cornerback DaRon Bland from injured reserve.

Head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters the 2023 All-Pro might begin practicing Thursday.

Having triggered his 21-day window on Oct. 9, this was the last day the Cowboys had to either activate Bland or move him to the season-long IR list. He has been out all year due to a stress fracture in his foot he suffered ahead of the regular season.

Bland’s status for Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons remains unclear..

“We’re not going to put him out there until he’s ready to go,” McCarthy said.

In 2023, the 25-year-old had 69 tackles, 15 pass breakups and led the NFL with nine interceptions, including five pick-sixes to set a single-season record. He was a terror to opposing quarterbacks out wide.

Dallas could certainly use that version of Bland right now. The Cowboys are 20th in passing yards allowed (218.0 per game) and 25th in opponent passer rating (99.4).

Despite not having running back Christian McCaffrey or wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy picked apart the Dallas secondary to the tune of 260 yards and a touchdown on 18-of-26 passing in his team’s 30-24 Week 8 win.

That the Cowboys are scuffling a bit on offense isn’t a total shock because they didn’t really replace leading rusher Tony Pollard and failed to give CeeDee Lamb much support in the receiving corps. The way the defense has performed is a bigger surprise.

Having Bland back, whenever he debuts, will be a big boost.