FRISCO, Texas — Sitting at 3-4 on the season and in dire need of calibration defensively, particularly in the realm of takeaways, the Dallas Cowboys will look to DaRon Bland to hopefully help in that regard — moving him from injured reserve to the active 53-man roster ahead of their coming matchup against the Atlanta Falcons.
That means, soon, this season could finally get more seasoning.
In a corresponding move, Amani Oruwariye has been sent to injured reserve due to a back injury suffered against the San Francisco 49ers and, as such, will be unavailable for a minimum of four games.
Having activated Bland's 21-day practice window on Oct. 9, the Cowboys were faced with an Oct. 30 deadline to either place him back on the active roster or he would be relegated to season-ending injured reserve and not allowed to return until the 2025 season.
While this does not yet guarantee he'll take the field this coming Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, it does mean there's been progress toward his eventual return from a stress fracture in his foot that required surgery before the season began.
"We're not going to put him out there until he's ready to go," head coach Mike McCarthy said on Wednesday.
The First-Team All-Pro fired off to a strong start in his return to practice, initially, participating fully in his first two tests in team drills before being pulled entirely — not participating in the final practice and walkthrough in Week 6 before being held out against the Detroit Lions.
The bye week was set to help his rehabilitation, presumably, but he was also held out of each practice leading into the Week 8 battle against the 49ers, and it is undetermined what his workload will be this week leading into the trip to Atlanta.
That said, even if Bland is ruled inactive against the Falcons, the Cowboys will now have immediate access to putting him back on the field as soon as he's ready, as opposed to not.
The reigning 2023 NFL interceptions leader and single-season record holder in pick-sixes should instantly provide a spark for a Cowboys' defense that is currently starved for one.
