Cowboys Claiborne To Be Punished, Will Play Against Saints
IRVING (CBSDFW.COM) -- Dallas Cowboys cornerback Mo Claiborne will be punished by the team but will play this week after leaving team facilities and missing practice on Tuesday.
Claiborne left Valley Ranch after being told that Orlando Scandrick would replace him in the starting lineup. He missed a scheduled meeting and walk-through.
Head Coach Jason Garrett says that Claiborne returned to the facility Tuesday night after gathering his thoughts.
"I think he understood that he made a mistake," said Garrett. "Guys are competitors. When they hear news that doesn't go their way, different guys react different ways. He obviously knew that he didn't react the right way. He had a chance to kind of collect himself. He came by last night and we addressed it head on."
Garrett did not say how the team would punish Claiborne, only saying the punishment would be handled in-house. However, the third-year corner will be available to play on Sunday.
Garrett says Mo will have the opportunity to compete "with everybody" for playing time. But Scandrick earned the opportunity to start opposite Brandon Carr against New Orleans.
"It's our job to try and play the best players. We'll do that at every position," said Garrett. "Orlando Scandrick came back last week, after three days of practice, and played 51 snaps in the game. We just felt like, when we evaluated that, his performance relative to Mo's -- he deserved the opportunity to start at that cornerback position."
Claiborne addressed the team at Wednesday morning's team meeting, though Garrett is keeping the content of his message private.
Drew Brees and the Saints offense piled up 40 first downs against the Cowboys in a 49-17 win last season. The Cowboys secondary was torched for 392 yards passing and four touchdowns.
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