Dallas Cowboys CB Star Player earns $750k In Performance-Based Incentive After 2023 Season And Will Earn $12Million If He Keep It Up In 2024 Season…

None of us will ever forget when DaRon Bland set the record for most interceptions returned for a touchdown on Thanksgiving Day. The moment ensured that an all-time season would live forever in the history books.

While Bland had an impressive rookie season in 2022, nobody predicted him to break out the way that he did in 2023. Much of this was due to the presence of Trevon Diggs, who received a contract extension before the season began, and the acquisition of longtime veteran Stephon Gilmore. Bland was expected to man the slot and nothing more.

But as we all know Diggs went down with a torn ACL in the early parts of the season and that thrust Bland into a position he wasn’t necessarily ready to play. While it took a bit for the waters to stabilize he turned in a stellar campaign and has found himself properly compensated for it.

Bland received a bonus just north of $750k via the NFL’s performance-based system.

Bland was a fifth-round pick two years ago and the idea of him playing so much so early in his career would have never made sense when his name was first called. That is simply the way that things go sometimes, though.

So much about NFL contract structure works against players so it is nice to see that Bland picked up an extra distribution for playing so much. It is worth mentioning that after this upcoming season that he will be eligible for an extension for the first time,and given what he just did will likely be looking to get paid, but the likelihood of him topping 2023 in 2024 is low to say the least.

READ MORE:

Cowboys Could Add Record-Breaking Running Back: ‘Sensible Move’

The Dallas Cowboys could be in the market for a record-breaking running back.

As the Cowboys enter the 2024 NFL draft, they’ll likely do so without a clear-cut starter at running back. After allowing Tony Pollard to walk in free agency and sign with the Tennessee Titans, Dallas’ current running back room features Rico Dowdle, Malik Davis and Deuce Vaughn. Those three backs combined for just 112 carries for 401 rushing yards and two touchdowns during the 2023 season, with Davis not recording a single statistic.

However, as Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox writes in his three “hidden-gem prospects” that the Cowboys should target, University of Michigan running back Blake Corum is one of the players he mentions.

Knox argues that Corum — who is expected to be a Day 3 pick in the draft — could give the Cowboys “high-athletic upside” at the position.

“Corum might not have the high-end athletic upside of a future star, but he’s a sound technical runner who knows how to read defenses and utilize blocks to his advantage,” writes Knox. “After topping 240 carries in each of the last two seasons, Corum has also shown that he can handle a heavy workload.”

Corum is considered the 114th-ranked prospect on Bleacher Report’s big board. In Bleacher Report’s scouting report of Corum, they rank the 5-foot-8, 205-pounder as the eighth-top back in the draft. However, they have him actually pegged as going in the fifth round.

As Knox notes, the Cowboys don’t have a fourth-round draft pick. However, they could always use their package of late picks to move on up in the draft if they feel they need to do so in order to draft Corum.

“Dallas does own picks No. 174, 216 and 233, however, and a package might allow it to trade up and into Round 4,” writes Knox. “That would be a sensible move if the Cowboys can pull it off, as the 2024 class lacks talent on the back end.”

The 23-year-old was actually a record-breaking running back at the University of Michigan. Outside of leading the Wolverines to a national champion during his final season, he broke the single-season record for touchdowns (27) and the school’s all-time record in that category (58).

Corum was actually named to the All-American Team in back-to-back seasons, having also been selected to the team after a 2022 season in which he ran for 1,463 yards.