Cowboys free agent watch: Is Mo Claiborne's time in Dallas over?
2:52 PM ET
Todd Archer
ESPN Staff Writer
The Dallas Cowboys have 16 players set to become unrestricted free agents in March. In this series, we determine why a player should or should not return in 2016 and beyond.
Morris Claiborne
Position: Cornerback
Age: 26
NFL experience: Four years
2015 salary: $2.607 million
2015 statistics: In 11 games, Claiborne was credited with 42 tackles and nine pass deflections. He missed five games with hamstring and ankle injuries. He has not had an interception since Week 3 of the 2014 season.
Why he will be back: The Cowboys need cornerbacks. A lot of them. Their belief is that when Claiborne played, he played well, despite not intercepting a pass last season. Perhaps that is a stubbornness involved from moving up to the sixth pick in the draft to take him in 2012. He is young, having turned 26 on Feb. 7, and he showed some grit in coming back from a torn patellar tendon suffered in 2014. He works hard. He is a good kid. He does things the right way. The Cowboys could still see potential in a player they had rated as the best cornerback since Deion Sanders.
Why he will not be back: Claiborne will have a say in the matter. Though he often repeated a desire to remain a Cowboy when asked about his future last season, there has to be a feeling that change could serve him well. He will always be measured against his draft status here. Despite missing five games, he was penalized nine times, the most by a defensive player. At the time of the trade up to get him, the Cowboys were universally praised, but the results of the past four years show it was a mistake. They took a big swing and missed.
Chance to return: Low to moderate. Never say never with cornerbacks, even if Claiborne’s on-field performance has been spotty. The Cowboys could be in an either/or scenario with Claiborne and Brandon Carr, who has a $13.8 million cap figure. The tiebreaker should be availability. Carr has not missed a game in his career.