Cowboys aim to keep DaRon Bland, Donovan Ezeiruaku on track through OTAs

The Dallas Cowboys are starting OTAs with a simple message about two key pieces on defense: progress is the goal, not sudden workload. In Frisco this week, head coach Brian Schottenheimer and the Cowboys’ staff said cornerback DaRon Bland and outside linebacker Donovan Ezeiruaku are advancing through offseason practices in a controlled way, while the team waits for a medical green light to push them further. The intent, according to Schottenheimer, is to be smart with a pair of players whose health matters far more than any early-summer reps.

Bland’s offseason has carried extra scrutiny after the end of his 2025 season was derailed by a foot injury that required surgery to repair it. The Cowboys noted that the problem followed an earlier foot injury that cost him time at the start of the 2024 campaign. Still, the OTA plan is built around steadiness. Schottenheimer said the pair will move into more individual drills over the next couple of weeks, but the organization expects them to keep building without being “unleashed” during OTAs or in the mandatory minicamp period that follows in mid-June.

Ezeiruaku’s recovery storyline is different but similarly cautious. The Cowboys said he underwent surgery earlier this offseason to repair a labrum tear in his hip, and they are leaning heavily on the second-year pass-rusher heading into Year 2. Dallas also tied the timetable to scheme fit, pointing to new defensive coordinator Christian Parker’s overhaul and describing Ezeiruaku as a player whose best traits helped him stand out at Boston College. The Cowboys’ broader point is that learning the system is the priority while health decisions are being finalized.

From a roster and role standpoint, both players figure into Dallas’ foundation for the defense. Bland is listed as a cornerback and, in his first pro season, the Cowboys highlight that he split his time between nickel and boundary roles, posting eight starts in 17 games and a team-leading five interceptions during that rookie stretch. Ezeiruaku, listed as an OLB on the Cowboys’ roster, is viewed as a developmental cornerstone on the edge. The immediate challenge for Dallas is making that promise practical, ensuring that offseason reps lead to confidence, not complications.

The Cowboys also made clear that the conservative approach is not a judgment on readiness so much as it is a sequencing decision. Schottenheimer said both players are doing well, but that precautions are in place because OTAs are about learning the scheme and system. In the same breath, the team acknowledged that defense-wide questions remain as Parker works to reshape how Dallas plays. A healthy Bland at corner and a functional, high-motor Ezeiruaku on the edge are the kind of answers that can turn training-camp work from “install” into “execution.”

What to watch next is how quickly those “more individual drills” progress as June moves forward. The Cowboys expect both players to avoid the team’s PUP list and to be available when training camp begins in late July in Oxnard. If that timeline holds, the start of training camp becomes the key proving ground, especially for a defense that is still changing while trying to keep its best talent on the field.