DaRon Bland getting reps in the slot during these OTAs at The Star and beyond doesn’t mean he’s lost his spot. It means the Dallas Cowboys have problems to solve — and they’re leaning on their most complete corner to fix them.
Trevon Diggs is still recovering from a major knee injury. Shavon Revel Jr., a clear steal in the 2025 NFL Draft, is also coming off a knee injury of his own. The newly acquired Kaiir Elam still has plenty to prove and 2024 fifth-round pick Caelen Carson had a tough rookie season.
The cornerback room is banged up and full of question marks.
So Bland — who can play outside or inside at a high level — is being asked to move around a little bit. And contrary to what some thing, his bank account wont suffer as a result.
With Bland’s contract extension looming, a narrative being floated around Cowboys Nation is that him playing slot Corner could be used as a leverage tool against him to manipulate his future value.
Not so fast, my friends.
Slot corners make significantly less than outside corners do. There's no doubt about that.
For instance, Jordan Lewis, who just left Dallas for Jacksonville, just signed a three-year $30 million deal — the largest nickel corner contract in the league.
The top outside corners in the NFL? They’re making $30 million APY - three times Lewis' number.
But that market-based trend is becoming increasingly outdated because the league is changing.
Offenses now line up WR1s in the slot. Even the 11 personnel that teams like the 49ers and Rams feature has gone physical — condensed formations, physical wideouts, and hard-nosed run action. That slot corner better have his lunch packed and ready for a fight, otherwise he's in for a long day
Not only is he closer to the box and a cog in the run fits, he must also cover in space without the ability to get his hands on the receiver he's matched up with given the slot receiver is usually either in motion or off the line of scrimmage.
It's incredibly difficult to navigate traffic and re-route receivers for those reasons alone ... but then you add in the component of not having the sideline as an extra defender and receivers on two-way goes, its a damn near impossible task.
In today’s NFL, it’s not about inside vs. outside. It’s about who can hold up where it matters most.
The league is ever-evolving. And that pendulum is now in the process of swinging back in the favor of physicality over finesse.
DaRon Bland has already proven he can dominate in both spots — and that’s not a liability the Cowboys can exploit.
Bland, who was first-team All-Pro and fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2023 after leading the league in interceptions (nine) and setting an NFL record for pick-sixes (five) is entering a contract year.
If Jerry Jones wants to "see some leaves fall'' around the league before opting to pay Bland in excess of $20 million per year to stay? That's his right.
But ...
If Dallas tries to squeeze him because "he's only a slot corner,'' Dallas will get burned. ...
Because's Bland's true and well-known skill set represents a weapon that front office rivals of the Cowboys will be happy to pay for.
