Dallas Cowboys activate CB DaRon Bland off IR -- but when will he return?

FRISCO — Deadlines make deals. They also make roster decisions.

The Dallas Cowboys activated DaRon Bland off of injured reserve on Wednesday. To make room, Dallas placed corner Amani Oruwariye on injured reserve. Oruwariye injured his back in Sunday’s loss to San Francisco.

The question now becomes whether Bland will return this Sunday against Atlanta or not. The answer isn’t easy, either.

Normally, injured reserve activations can be a sign that a return is imminent. Bland’s case doesn’t exactly fit the criteria. Wednesday was the deadline for the Cowboys to activate Bland. If they didn’t activate him in the 21-day window, then Bland would’ve returned to injured reserve for the rest of the season.

Bland spent Wednesday’s portion of practice open to the media working in the rehabilitation group with Britt Brown, the team’s director of rehabilitation and associate athletic trainer.

Bland’s original reported timeline after his surgery for a stress fracture in his foot lined up with a potential return for the San Francisco game. It looked like there was a chance he could even be earlier than that, potentially even playing against the Lions prior to the Week 7 bye.

Bland practiced in the lead up to the Lions game and even said he wanted to return, but he hasn’t been a consistent mainstay in practice since, making his actual return date cloudy.

“I think that’s why, I know personally, I always avoid timelines,” Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said about Bland’s injury and whether he’s taking longer than expected. “I’m not in those specific meetings, and every injury is different. Every individual is different.”

As for Bland’s potential return, McCarthy said: “We’re not going to put him out there until he’s ready to go. We’re being smart about it, which you need to be for what he’s experiencing right now. If he wants to share that with you, that’s his business. Yeah, he’s getting close. We just want to make sure he’s ready to go when it’s time to cut him loose.”

When that time comes remains to be seen. At least now the Cowboys are giving him a chance to return this season with Wednesday’s roster decision.

The Cowboys could use Bland on Sunday against Atlanta. The Falcons, according to Sumer Sports, run 11 personnel the most in the NFL. They also have the sixth-best DVOA on offense this season, according to FTN Fantasy.

The Cowboys also have a -8 turnover differential this season — the third-worst differential in the NFL. Bland had nine interceptions on his own last season.