DaRon Bland says the foot is finally right. The Dallas Cowboys cornerback, who set an NFL record with five pick-sixes in 2023, is calling himself all the way back after foot surgery in January. That ends two injury-riddled seasons in which he never looked like the player who turned interceptions into touchdowns like nobody before him. He wants 2026 to be the year he returns to that form, and he's got new shoes for the ride.
The record season was no fluke. Bland was in his second NFL season and his first as an outside cornerback, and he did something no one in league history had done: five pick-sixes in a single year. That kind of ball production changed the geometry of the Cowboys' defense. Then the foot problems hit. Injuries in 2024 and 2025 kept him off the field or limited him when he played, and the splash plays vanished.
Now comes the hard part. A cornerback whose game depends on breaking on the ball needs trust in his feet. Bland's surgery came in January, giving him roughly seven months before the season. The new shoes are a small detail, but for a player trying to regain explosion, equipment matters.
The Cowboys' secondary has other questions beyond Bland, but if he's healthy, it changes the math. A cornerback who can erase a receiver and score points is a rare commodity. He's not guaranteed to repeat 2023; nobody is. But a right foot means the ceiling is back.
The honest verdict: Bland's 2023 remains the benchmark, and two lost seasons have to weigh on any projection. Given the surgery and the long layoff, the wise bet is that he's closer to good than great early in 2026. But if the foot holds, the Cowboys have a difference-maker most teams don't have. That makes this a season worth tracking.