The Dallas Cowboys defense has been among the worst in the NFL again this season, a very concerning sign for an organization that has built much of its identity on it. 

The Cowboys typically have a hard-nosed defense that can get stops at a high level, but that hasn't been the case. 

It also looks like the Cowboys paid a couple of guys when they shouldn't have, including cornerback Daron Bland. 

Bland, drafted in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, looked like one of that year's draft steals.

He finished his second year with nine interceptions, doing so after a five-interception campaign his first season in the league. Unfortunately, since then, he has only one interception, which is a very concerning sign. 

While interceptions aren't the best way to tell whether a defensive back is elite, Bland isn't exactly great in coverage either. For that reason, and more, ESPN recently suggested he could lose his job.

“Bland was a first-team All-Pro after he picked off nine passes in 2023, but the interceptions have dried up since then. He has just one INT across 24 games since the start of 2024. And when Bland isn't creating significant value with his takeaways, teams find it too easy to pick on him in coverage. 

“He has allowed passer ratings north of 100 in coverage in each of the past three seasons, per Pro-Football-Reference.com, including a career-worst 126.2 mark this season,” Bill Barnwell wrote.

The problem for the Cowboys, if they want to get rid of Bland, is his massive contract. Bland is currently playing on a four-year, $92 million deal that he signed in August of 2025. He has $50 million in guaranteed money in that, so there are some ways that Dallas could get out of it if it wanted to. 

However, it feels safe saying that a team around the league likely wouldn't be willing to take on that contract as of now.

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