The Cowboys have signed one of their top defensive players to a new deal ahead of the 2025 season.
According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the team has agreed to terms with cornerback Daron Bland on a four-year contract extension. The pact includes $50 million guaranteed and makes him the sixth-highest-paid cornerback in the league in terms of APY ($23 million per season).
Dallas selected Bland out of Fresno State in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL draft. He put together a stellar second season in 2023, not only leading the NFL in interceptions with nine but also setting a new league record with five pick-sixes. The incredible season saw Bland be voted both a Pro Bowler and a First-team All-Pro. The 26-year-old was unfortunately sidelined for the Cowboys' first ten games of 2024 after suffering a stress fracture in training camp, but finished the year with 41 total tackles and five passes defensed.
Bland's extension comes just four days ahead of Dallas's 2025 season opener against the Eagles and just three days after they traded four-time Pro Bowl defender Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers. While ESPN's Todd Archer noted that the team had already been in talks with Bland before dealing Parsons to Green Bay, it's easy to connect the two dots, and may leave fans scratching their heads as to why they couldn't extend the star pass rusher as well.
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