Cowboys’ Projected $95 Million CB Called ‘True Leader’ in NFC East

There are only a few truly elite divisions in the NFL headed into 2025, and at the top of that list is the NFC East. Both teams in last season’s NFC Championship Game come from its ranks with the Washington Commanders and eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.

While those 2 teams were the cream of the crop, before last season it was the Dallas Cowboys who were predicted to be the best in the division after consecutive 12-5 seasons in 2022 and 2023.

That was before the Cowboys went in the tank and finished with a 7-10 record, mostly thanks to injuries to quarterback Dak Prescott and edge rusher Micah Parsons.

Those 2 are part of a group of former NFL All-Pros on the roster who are looking to shake up the apple cart in the NFC East in 2025 — a group that includes cornerback DaRon Bland, who might be the true leader of the defense if he can return to his previous elite level of play.

Even in the ultra-competitive NFC East, Bleacher Report’s Matt Holder singled Bland out as the division’s best cornerback alongside wunderkind cornerback Quinyon Mitchell for the Eagles.

“Trevon Diggs was also considered here, but having surgery on the same knee in back-to-back offseasons points to some regression this fall,” Holder wrote on July 7. “However, that makes way for Diggs’ running mate, Bland, to earn a spot, as the pick-six specialist is more than capable of producing highlight-worthy plays when healthy.”

Few players in the NFL can relate to the incredible pressure Bland will be under to perform at a high level this season.

Bland was an NFL All-Pro and Pro Bowler in 2023 after he led the NFL with 9 interceptions in 2023 — the same year he set the NFL single season record with 5 interceptions returned for touchdowns.

After 14 interceptions across his first 2 seasons, Bland finally hit a wall in 2024 and only played in 7 games due to injuries and didn’t record an interception.

That’s significant because Bland is in the final season of his 4-year, $3.96 million contract he signed after the Cowboys selected him in the fifth round (No. 167 overall) out of Fresno State in the 2022 NFL draft.

Spotrac currently projects Bland to receive a 4-year, $94.9 million contract when he becomes an unrestricted free agent after this season — a number with such wild variance that it’s not of the realm of possibility to think it could go down by as much as $70 million if Bland goes in the tank again in 2025.

Bland Called NFL’s No. 1 Free Agent CB in 2026

PFF’s Mason Cameron has Bland ranked as the No. 1 free agent cornerback in the 2026 cycle. Even if he has another Pro Bowl season, it’s almost a certainty he’ll be on a new team next season because of the fact the Cowboys already have another cornerback, Trevon Diggs, on a 5-year, $97 million contract that runs through 2028.

“DaRon Bland makes up half of Dallas’ supremely talented cornerback tandem but remains without a deal heading into the 2025 season and reportedly isn’t in talks for one currently,” Cameron wrote on May 7. “To add salt to the wound, the Cowboys spent a Day 2 draft pick at cornerback, likely signaling their budget doesn’t include an extension for Bland.”