{"id":190818,"date":"2025-09-01T04:46:05","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T04:46:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/190818\/"},"modified":"2025-09-01T04:46:05","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T04:46:05","slug":"daron-blands-extension-is-the-first-step-for-the-cowboys-after-micah-parsons-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/190818\/","title":{"rendered":"DaRon Bland\u2019s extension is the first step for the Cowboys after Micah Parsons trade"},"content":{"rendered":"

FRISCO \u2014 Cowboys owner Jerry Jones wouldn\u2019t align himself with any talks of a rebuild<\/a> after the Micah Parsons trade. He said consistently on Thursday that the deal not only made them better in the present, but in the long term. Cowboys co-owner Stephen Jones and head coach Brian Schottenheimer \u2014 two parties involved in a \u201cunanimous\u201d decision to trade Parsons<\/a> \u2014 also alluded to a similar mindset.<\/p>\n

So what say you, Dak Prescott<\/a>? <\/p>\n

\u201cWe added a great player and obviously added some picks for the future,\u201d the Cowboys quarterback said about the Parsons trade to Green Bay. \u201cI\u2019m not going to say we\u2019re better. We\u2019ve got to go out and prove it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\"Dallas<\/p>\n

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The team is not the only one with something to prove. In the wake of the Parsons trade, there\u2019s also pressure on the Cowboys\u2019 front office. There\u2019s an onus on the decision-makers, headlined by Jerry Jones, to make the most of the two first-round picks acquired from the Packers along with defensive tackle Kenny Clark<\/a>. There\u2019s also an onus to take the money they had slated for Parsons over the next four to five seasons and use it elsewhere. <\/p>\n

So far, so good.<\/p>\n

The Cowboys signed cornerback DaRon Bland to a four-year extension on Sunday<\/a> that will keep him with Dallas through the 2029 season. The agreement is worth $92 million and includes $50 million in guarantees, a person familiar with the contract told The Dallas Morning News. Bland will now be a top-six corner in the NFL in terms of average annual contract value. <\/p>\n

Bland\u2019s value should be immediately required. The Cowboys open the season against the Eagles<\/a>, the reigning Super Bowl champions, on Thursday in Philadelphia. Bland could play outside or inside, depending on whether Trevon Diggs is available<\/a> for Week 1 or not. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt gives us the versatility and the multiplicity that we want,\u201d Schottenheimer said of Bland. \u201cWe can change up different personnel groupings. From a play-caller, that can be really hard. Because certain times, it\u2019s like where is he? It was like that for a long time with Jalen Ramsey. He\u2019s inside, he\u2019s outside, he travels, he doesn\u2019t travel. I think that\u2019s what\u2019s so powerful for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Cowboys started talking with Bland\u2019s representation about a potential contract extension this summer. Those talks continued through training camp and ultimately concluded Saturday night when both sides agreed to terms.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was kind of surprised,\u201d said Bland, who has 14 interceptions in 41 career games. \u201cKind of a little bit dumbfounded. Can\u2019t believe I\u2019m going to be making that much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bland said the timing of the deal was a relief for him, too. The former fifth-round pick out of Fresno State was scheduled to be a free agent after this season. He said the talks for his extension involved mostly his agent, Josh Arnold of Synergy Sports, and the Cowboys. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always something you have in the back of your mind a little bit because it\u2019s the last year of my contract,\u201d said Bland, who holds the NFL record<\/a> for most interception returns for a touchdown in a season (five). \u201cIt was always going to be in the back of my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

The deal may have come as a surprise to Bland \u2014 at least initially \u2014 but it probably shouldn\u2019t have been to those who follow the Cowboys. <\/p>\n

By trading Parsons, the Cowboys shifted course. Jones said in training camp that the offer they had to Parsons before the draft was off the table because \u201cMicah took it off.\u201d Speaking on Thursday after the trade, Jones was adamant that the idea to trade Parsons followed shortly after that decision and had been under consideration since. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe was an asset that we got four great years out of,\u201d Jones said about Parsons. \u201cBut when you\u2019re talking about making a contract \u2014 the kind that he got \u2014 and for the future, that\u2019s quite a commitment, and none of that counts about what he did those first four years and all of it goes against what he can do for you in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

And what he would cost, too. Jones likes to equate the salary cap to pie; without Parsons in the fold for the future, there were more slices to go around. <\/p>\n

Bland was the first. He likely won\u2019t be the last. The Cowboys could shift their attention to left guard Tyler Smith soon<\/a>. The former first-round pick has two Pro Bowl seasons in his first three seasons. Schottenheimer also voiced his hope that Smith, heading into the fourth year of his rookie deal, could be on the radar of the front office, too.<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\"Dallas<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I love about Tyler is that he hasn\u2019t checked up one day,\u201d Schottenheimer said. \u201cHe\u2019s probably one of our hardest practice players that we have. He\u2019s not missed a beat; not said a word. I think that\u2019s one of the things you respect about him.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut what a talent. Hopefully he\u2019s the next one that we can get [a contract] done.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dallas<\/p>\n

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones (left) visits with his son Stephen Jones in their training camp tower as they watch practice in Oxnard, Calif., July 30, 2025.<\/p>\n

Tom Fox \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

Other potential extension candidates include defensive end Sam Williams and wide receiver George Pickens. Both have something to prove this season, however. For Williams, it\u2019s proving he can stay healthy after missing last season with a torn ACL. For Pickens, it\u2019s proving he can stay in the good graces of a coaching staff<\/a>, as he has so far, while playing well on the field. <\/p>\n

In addition to signing other players, the Cowboys\u2019 front office also has a responsibility to use its new draft assets well. The Cowboys haven\u2019t had multiple first-round picks since 2008. They\u2019re scheduled to have two in each of the next two drafts, barring a trade for a veteran, just as they did when they acquired wide receiver Amari Cooper in 2018. Stephen Jones indicated on Thursday that\u2019s something they could do.<\/p>\n

Moving forward, the Cowboys believe they have the chance to make the most of what they acquired from the Parsons trade. <\/p>\n

\u201cMicah Parsons did an outstanding job for us for four years and in a little bit of the way Herschel Walker<\/a> may have had his greatest contribution to the Cowboys [was] what he brought to us when he left,\u201c Jerry Jones said. \u201dIt could be a tremendous thing for our fans and the success of this team.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pressure is on them to accomplish that. <\/p>\n

Twitter:<\/b> @JoeJHoyt<\/a><\/p>\n

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Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here<\/b><\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FRISCO \u2014 Cowboys owner Jerry Jones wouldn\u2019t align himself with any talks of a rebuild after the Micah…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":190819,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,29841,7311,13555,1596,8998,50027,11138,1232,358,92591,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-190818","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-brian-schottenheimer","10":"tag-cowboys","11":"tag-dak-prescott","12":"tag-dallas","13":"tag-dallas-cowboys","14":"tag-jerry-jones","15":"tag-micah-parsons","16":"tag-nfl","17":"tag-texas","18":"tag-the-star-in-frisco","19":"tag-tx","20":"tag-united-states","21":"tag-united-states-of-america","22":"tag-unitedstates","23":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","24":"tag-us","25":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115127227979419002","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=190818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190818\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/190819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=190818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=190818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=190818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}