The Dallas Cowboys entered the final hours before their Week 10 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers with understandable concern about the health of their cornerback group.

Both Joey Porter Jr. and DaRon Bland had been listed as questionable with ankle issues, leaving the secondary looking thin at a time when the team could least afford it.

Depth options such as Cobie Durant, Ameer Speed, and Shavon Revel remain available, yet none of them carry the same starting experience as the two injured players.

Sunday morning brought a more encouraging report from NFL insider Ian Rapoport.

According to sources, both Bland and Porter Jr. are still officially questionable, but each is trending toward playing.

Porter, dealing with ankle and foot problems, has logged two solid practices in consecutive days, which has improved the outlook for his availability against a 49ers team that entered the week with a strong record.

The Cowboys’ defense as a whole has struggled this season. The unit ranks near the bottom of the league in total yards allowed and sits in the lower half of the NFL in points surrendered.

Run defense has been particularly porous, while coverage metrics have also lagged. Those numbers help explain why the status of Porter and Bland carries extra weight.

When Porter has been able to take the field, the secondary has shown clearer signs of improvement, even if the overall defensive ranking remains low.

Porter himself has spoken candidly about the injury that has limited him. He first tweaked the ankle during the Houston game in Week 4, then continued to play through the discomfort.

The problem has kept him from feeling fully recovered, and he has estimated that he has been operating at roughly 70 percent.

Still, he has argued that even that level of availability is preferable to sitting out, and he has noted that teammates have pushed for his return because of the presence he brings when healthy. In his view, that presence can change the feel of a game.

For a Cowboys team already thin in the secondary and facing one of the better clubs in the conference, the late positive reports on Porter and Bland offer a measure of relief.

Whether both corners ultimately suit up remains a game-time decision, but the trajectory of their recoveries suggests the Dallas defense will have more of its preferred options available than it appeared likely to have just a day earlier.

Against a 49ers offense capable of exploiting secondary lapses, that difference could prove meaningful.