The Cowboys got good news and bad news from first-round cornerback Morris Claiborne’s MRI today.
The good news is that Claiborne doesn’t have any kind of serious structural damage in his knee that could affect him into the regular season. The bad news is that he does have a sprained MCL and will miss at least a week.
“I’m disappointed and angry because I missed a lot of reps in the past,” Claiborne told the Star-Telegram. “I can’t have those reps back. I can’t get the reps that I need. It’s a minor setback. I was worried at first. I’m not going to beat myself up over it.”
Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett said that he’s concerned about Claiborne missing time, but he’s confident that Claiborne will keep learning from the sideline.
“Well, we want our players out there practicing,” Garrett said. “And we certainly want our rookie players out there practicing because they have the most ground to catch up. But as we’ve talked before, Morris is a smart football player. He understands things intellectually and he is able to carry the information from the meeting room to the field. He is going to stay engaged like the other guys who have been injured, stay engaged with the installation, with what is going on in terms of the coaching on the field, and we will get him back when he is healthy.”
So Garrett isn’t worried about Claiborne being mentally ready to start the season on September 5. And despite this setback, Claiborne should be physically ready as well.