Oftentimes, it’s a good idea to extend players early. The Dallas Cowboys have learned this the hard way as they’ve allowed negotiations with key contributors such as Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Micah Parsons to get out of hand.

Prescott was able to use his leverage to land a contract worth $60 million per season, which was a record at the time. Lamb held out during that same offseason, eventually landing a deal worth $34 million annually, whereas Parsons forced his way out after his negotiations stalled.

To their credit, the Cowboys might have tried to avoid more issues by signing a few players early. That includes guard Tyler Smith, who landed a four-year, $96 million extension in 2025. That has proven to be a home run, but the same can’t be said for another one of their big extensions.

Dallas decided to lock up cornerback DaRon Bland, signing the former fifth-round pick to a four-year, $92 million extension. This was a surprise move from the Cowboys since Bland was coming off a frustrating season, which was marred by a foot injury. The Cowboys were banking on Bland returning to the form we saw in 2023, but that wasn’t the case.

Bland continued to struggle with durability and wasn’t the impact player we saw during his breakout season when he was on the field. Now, he enters his fifth season in the league with a hefty price tag, and there are questions about his long-term status with the team.

DaRon Bland’s cap hit in 2026 is a problem

According to Over The Cap, Bland has the fifth-highest cap hit on the team this season. Bland, who is earning an annual average salary of $23 million, has a hit of $17 million this year.

The good news for the Cowboys is that they seemed to protect themselves slightly with this deal. While they can’t feasibly move on in 2026, even if Bland loses his starting job, they do have a way out of his deal next year.

Dallas can release Bland ahead of the 2027 season while absorbing a dead cap hit of $12.941 million. That would essentially make his deal a two-year contract for $36.355 million. That’s still not an ideal situation for the Cowboys, but that’s also what happens when the front office rolls the dice.

It’s also an unfortunate trend, as the Cowboys decided to extend Michael Gallup and Terence Steele while coming off injury-plagued seasons, and the results weren’t much better.

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ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — I-285 WB was blocked in Fulton County on Thursday morning as crews cleaned up a fallen tree.

Video of the scene showed the tree and leaf litter sprawled across several lanes. Crews were using chainsaws to clean up the mess.

Several vehicles at the scene appear to be damaged, but it’s unknown if anyone was hurt. Atlanta News First has reached out to the fire department for more information.

As of 9 a.m., the road had partially reopened.

This is a developing story. Check back with Atlanta News First as we learn more.