Cowboys entering the danger zone with potential one-year wonder

Dallas Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland put together a historic campaign in 2023, returning five interceptions for touchdowns and picking off nine passes overall.

Bland made the Pro Bowl and earned a First-Team All-Pro selection for his efforts, and all eyes were understandably on the 25-year-old heading into last season.

Well, Bland played in just seven games as a result of foot surgery last year, taking the field for the first time in late November. This time around, the youngster did not register a single interception, which has some wondering if Bland was merely a one-year wonder the season prior.

Regardless, Bland has already built a reputation thanks to his monster 2023 campaign, and with just one year remaining on his contract, he is a very intriguing player heading into 2025.

Bland is eligible for an extension, but the Cowboys are obviously not prioritizing the defensie back considering they still need to strike an agreement with Micah Parsons. Plus, Dallas just handed exorbitant amounts of money to Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb, so paying Bland is not exactly at the top of its to-do list.

That means the Fresno State product could ultimately be preparing to play his final season with the Cowboys, especially if he has a big year in 2025.

Rohan Chakravarthi of Blogging the Boys provided his prediction of what he thinks Bland's new deal will look like, and if it ends up this expensive, it's hard to imagine Dallas retaining him. Chakravarthi projects Bland to land a four-year, $78 million pact featuring $53.5 million in guarantees.

Bland was an interception machine over his first two NFL seasons, collecting 14 picks in total between 2022 and 2023. However, he really has only had one great year, so paying like a near-elite player at his position would be dangerous, to say the least.

Of course, we all need to see how Bland performs this coming season. If he has another impressive showing, then he probably will be worth in the neighborhood of $20 million annually. But the former fifth-round pick cannot expect to live off of his 2023 campaign when it comes to negotiations.

We'll see what Dallas decides to do with Bland in the future, but based on the Cowboys' current salary table and with a new Parsons contract on the horizon, we may be witnessing the last of Bland in Dallas.