Cowboys insider shares status update on rookie cornerback DaRon Bland after Week 18 exit

Amid the Dallas Cowboys‘ embarrassing outing versus the Washington Commanders on Sunday night, the team lost cornerback DaRon Bland to a chest injury. The rookie out of Fresno State exited the 26-6 loss, however, according to Dallas Morning News reporter Michael Gehlken, the Cowboys do not expect to miss Bland on Monday night in round one of the playoffs versus Tampa Bay.

“Cowboys rookie CB DaRon Bland (chest) exited Sunday during the third quarter, and there appears to be no concern about his status moving forward,” Gehlken shared on Monday. “He is expected to be fine for next Monday’s playoff game in Tampa, a person familiar with situation said.”

Bland played 30 snaps on defense on Sunday night, approximately 45% of the team’s total defensive snaps. Cowboys defensive coordinator also played cornerback Trayvon Mullen for 35 snaps after claiming the former second-round draft pick off of waivers from the Raiders in December. It’s unclear how much Mullen will play as the team heads into the first round of the playoffs.

The Cowboys drafted DaRon Bland with the No. 24 pick in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. After the injury to Anthony Brown last month, Bland has proved to be a critical piece for Dallas.

In 12 games played, he’s racked up 54 tackles with a team-leading five interceptions as well. Had the Cowboys lost the rookie for any amount of time in the postseason, it would have spelled major trouble for the secondary.

Cowboys, Buccaneers draw primetime matchup for round one

The Dallas Cowboys will take on Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the road for round one of the NFL playoffs after falling to Washington on Sunday night.

The team would have needed a loss from the Eagles and a win over the Commanders to host in the wild card round. Now, they face the uphill battle of a playoff game on the road. Not only that, it’s versus the NFL’s best postseason player of all time.

After drawing the Monday night primetime game, Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles shared why he believes they got the 8:15 p.m. ET slot.

“We’ve got Brady,” Bowles said during his press conference to start the week. “They’ve got Dak, they’ve got Jerry, they’ve got the star. We’ve won the past two years, both games have been great games. This one probably will be too.”

Dallas opened the year with a loss to the Bucs, and subsequently lost Dak Prescott for several games due to a thumb injury. They bounced back to finish the season at 12-5. However, the ugly loss versus Washington brought things full circle for the Cowboys on Sunday night.

The Cowboys opened as three-point favorites over the Bucs for Monday night’s wild card round matchup.