Claiborne, Dunbar expected to return Week 1 for Cowboys
By Corey Leahy
As with most teams in the NFL, preseason injuries happen, and sometimes the timetable for return can be hard to figure out. For two players of the Dallas Cowboys, that return time is expected/hoped to be by Week 1. Morris Claiborne, a starting corner back for the team, has been dealing with a sore left knee for a couple of weeks now. But today, his recovery seems to have taken a step in the right direction, when he was able to run at full speed in today’s team practice.
In an interview with ESPN, Claiborne talked about his injury and recovery,
"I’ve been feeling good but as soon as I worked out, (the knee) flared up on me. But I started cutting and driving on it (Thursday) and everything went good."
It is expected that Claiborne won’t see any game time for the next and final two pre season games, in order to not risk another injury or setback. The team is hopeful he can come back in time for Week 1, as their secondary needs him desperately.
Lance Dunbar is other player who is expected to return in time for the first week of the regular season. Although he is just a back-up running back right now, depth at that position is always needed, no matter what team it is. He is suffering from a sprained foot, and is supposed to be walking in a boot in just a few days to help the recovery process move smoothly. The Cowboys are going to take this recovery very seriously, as the last time one of their running backs went down with a sprained foot, he missed six games.
That player would be DeMarco Murray, who was forced to miss a big chunk of time last season from the same injury Dunbar has. The back up doesn’t feel that his injury is as bad as Murray’s was last year, but the team needs to take every precaution possible to not risk any other setbacks, much like with Claiborne.