Another day, another example of the Cowboys’ offseason failures killing them once the season rolls around. This time, it came at the hands of an injury to superstar Cornerback, DaRon Bland.
Time and time again this offseason, Dallas got in their own way. They say they don’t have money to spend, but that’s only because they haven’t extended their own.
If they had extended CeeDee Lamb last offseason, he would have cost at least $5M less annually than he does now. Hell, if they extended Dak Prescott today they would save money, considering his current cap hit for this season is now $55M.
The reason this injury to Bland is casting a dark cloud over the front office’s strategy is because of who they could have had taking his place if they spent money.
Right now, it will be 5th round rookie Caelen Carson filling the shoes of the All-Pro, but let’s talk about who it should have been instead.
Stephon Gilmore: Dallas’ Missed Opportunity
The biggest Cowboys offseason mistake was the decision to let veteran Cornerback, Stephon Gilmore, walk for no other reason than they could not drudge up $7M in guaranteed money.
Instead, Gilmore got that from the Minnesota Vikings last Sunday. Six days later, Bland went down.
This is not even Monday morning quarterbacking. Re-signing Gilmore was always the smart thing for the Cowboys front office to do, they just never could because of their money-mismanaging.
Now, that mismanaging is forcing their hand to play Carson, as I mentioned, rather than a 13-year veteran who played his tail off for Dallas just last season.
Carson has done fantastic in camp, and he was my personal favorite draft pick that Dallas made, but you never want the promising 5th round rookie to be thrust into a starting role in Week 1. That can do serious harm to his development if it goes wrong.
In short, Dallas had an easy solution to any secondary concerns, even before the Bland injury.
Now, that avenue is closed off, and there are really two ways the Cowboys can go moving forward. Let’s talk about that.
Xavien Howard: Redemption from Gilmore
The Cowboys’ offseason has turned out to be considerably less active, free agency-wise, than August has been. Since this month began, the front office has signed quite a few players, most notably Carl Lawson and Linval Joseph.
This change of strategy reads more like a last-second panic move after not getting all the players they needed in the offseason, but hey, we’ll take it.
If Dallas wants to continue that trend, and get some redemption from the Gilmore misstep, they could pursue former Miami Dolphin and two-time All-Pro, Xavien Howard.
It was rumored in the spring that the Cowboys had eyes for Howard, but it never happened. Now, with Bland knocked out for 6–8 weeks and Gilmore off the table, it could be the right time to rekindle that flame.
This would move would come with some skepticism, and I understand why.
Howard, despite his fantastic past, likely won’t see that kind of success at this point in his career. The All-Pro train has left the station for him. So, why bring in a 31-year-old cornerback this close to this season?
The argument is this: Look at Dallas’ depth chart there. It is incredibly young. The only true veteran is Jourdan Lewis, who will man the slot this year.
Bringing Howard in gives you some veteran leadership, experience, and a stop-gap between Carson and the starting job until Bland comes back.
The flip side to that is, what if Carson should be out there?
Caelen Carson: Already Time to Shine?
Simply put, maybe Caelen Carson is just flat-out good enough to take on the starting job for a while. It’s not like Al Harris has a track record of 5th-round cornerbacks balling out right away or anything.
In all seriousness, that is exactly the situation that happened with Bland, and look how it turned out for that 5th round rookie.
He snagged five interceptions in his rookie season and became a key player. Could Carson play to that level? I think that may be a bit of a stretch, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be very productive this year.
This is especially true when you consider how he has played in camp, and at times, in the preseason. The former Wake Forest Demon Deacon is killing it.
It will be a tall-ask for the Cowboys to throw him into the fire, but he has been taking 1st-team reps this summer, the talent is clearly there, and there is no better DB coach than Harris.
If we know anything about the Cowboys offseason strategy, it is that they roll with their guys.
I think it is highly unlikely we will see them make an external move to fill the hole at cornerback left by Bland. Expect to see Diggs, Carson, and at times Andrew Booth Jr on the outside until Bland returns from injury.