Cowboys cornerback Claiborne disciplined, but will play Sunday
Posted Wednesday, Sep. 24, 20140 comments PrintReprintsMore Sharing ServicesShare
Morris Claiborne needs to grow up and get better
IRVING — Disgruntled Dallas Cowboys cornerback Morris Claiborne was back at the team’s practice facility Wednesday after leaving on Tuesday teary-eyed and angry upon hearing that Orlando Scandrick would replace him in the starting lineup.
Claiborne will be fined by the team for missing a practice and multiples meetings, a source said. A final cost has yet to be determined, but he can be fined no more than $29,770 per NFL rules.
He apologized to his teammates, and will be in the lineup for Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints in one of the team’s sub packages.
Claiborne wants to be clear that he didn’t leave because he was demoted. He says he left because of how the news was presented to him. It made him so angry that he had to leave before the situation escalated.
“I felt myself at a place where I had to just leave the facility at that moment,” Claiborne said. “I felt like if I stayed, who knows what would have happened? I felt like the best thing for me was to leave.”
Claiborne said he went to call his mother and got by himself to collect his thoughts and pray. He also fielded several calls from supportive teammates concerned about his whereabouts.
Once he cooled off, Claiborne returned to the Cowboys’ facility on Tuesday night and met with coach Jason Garrett to express his regrets.
“I think he understood that he made a mistake,” Garrett said Wednesday morning. “Guys are competitors. When they hear news that doesn’t go their way, different guys react different ways. He obviously knew he didn’t react the right way. He had a chance to collect himself and when he came by last night, we addressed it. We addressed it head on.”
The Cowboys say the situation is resolved and they are ready to move on with preparation for Sunday’s game against the Saints in which Claiborne is expected to play a lot.
“I’m going to play a hell of a lot of plays for this team. I’m going to play a big role on this team, in this game and games to come down the road,” Claiborne said. “I’m a grown man. I’m here to stand up and fill the shoes that I need to fill and do whatever I need to do for this team. When my number’s called, I’m going to be there to give 100 percent, no matter what the situation is.”
Claiborne regrets walking out on his teammates.
“Those guys understand. Those guys play in this league. They understand just as much as I do, but I felt that I had to apologize to those guys,” Claiborne said. “My apology went to nobody but those guys, those guys that’s in this locker room with me, and it don’t go outside the locker room, because I let those guys down by leaving yesterday.”
What’s also at play is Claiborne’s status as the sixth overall pick in the 2012 draft and the inherent expectations that come with the investment the Cowboys made in him.
Even owner Jerry Jones acknowledges that Claiborne has been a disappointment, having only three interceptions in 28 games.
Scandrick replaced him in the starting lineup last year, keeping the job throughout the off-season and training camp. During camp, Scandrick was easily the team’s best defender, while Claiborne missed the entire preseason with injuries.
Claiborne started in the regular defense in the first three games. Scandrick missed the first two games serving an NFL suspension, and the team wanted to gauge his conditioning in Sunday’s 34-31 victory against the St. Louis Rams before returning him to the lineup full time.
If Scandrick’s return to the starting role wasn’t a foregone conclusion before the Rams, game it probably was after. Claiborne was burned for two touchdowns before making a game-sealing interception.
“My mindset coming into everything was that I was the starter,” Claiborne said. “I know everything that happened last year, and Scandrick was the starter and coming into this year, he was named the starter. But coming into camp, those jobs are open for anybody.
“After hearing Scandrick wasn’t going to be here, that had to motivate me even more, because I had nobody else to go in that position. It had to be me, so that’s what my mindset was. Get ready to play. You’re the starter, you’re the guy, no matter what. Things go certain ways and things happen, and that’s where we’re at right now.”
Despite all the fuss of the past two days, Claiborne said he still deserves to start.
“Everybody feels like they deserve to start. I’m not going to sit here and say, no, I don’t deserve to start because I know I deserve to start,” Claiborne said. “That’s not what the coaches said. At the end of the day, those guys have the last decision on what’s going to be done, and it is what it is.”
Asked why feels he deserves to start over Scandrick, Claiborne said: “Because I’ve worked, I’ve worked for it. Every day I’ve worked.”
Garrett and the Cowboys say different. And they have the final say.
“It’s our job to try to play the best players and we’ll do that at every position,” Garrett said. “Orlando Scandrick came back last week and after three days of practice played 51 snaps in the game. We just felt like when we evaluated that, his performance relative to Mo’s, we felt like he deserved the opportunity to start at that cornerback position.”
