IRVING, Texas –Morris Claiborne will sit out against Cincinnati on Saturday, but the second-year cornerback said he is making significant progress on his knee rehab.
Claiborne did not participate in Thursday evening's Silver and Blue Debut at AT&T Stadium, but he did speak to reporters about the advancements in his workout regimen.
"Everything is going good so far. Like I said we did some cutting and stuff, and we did some full speed running and stuff today, and I felt pretty good," Claiborne said. "I know it's a no-go for this week, but hopefully next week I'll be back out here."
It's been a little more than three weeks since Claiborne jammed his left knee during an Aug. 6 practice in Oxnard, Calif. Cowboys coach Jason Garrett has listed Claiborne as day-to-day ever since, after an MRI came back negative for any serious damage.
Claiborne is unavailable for the dress rehearsal against the Bengals. It hasn't been addressed to this point, but it seems questionable the Cowboys' coaching staff would play him next week against the Texans – a game usually reserved for backups and those trying to make the roster.
Regardless, Claiborne said he knows he'll be ready to start on Sept. 8 when the Cowboys open the season against the New York Giants.
"There ain't no doubt in my mind that I won't be playing that game – I know I will," he said. [embedded_ad]
It certainly seems like a much more likely scenario than it did in California. When the Cowboys broke training camp, Claiborne had yet to do any significant running, but he has been able to both run and cut in the week the team has been back in Dallas.
"It's been big. I was really looking forward to this week, because I really haven't ran – I've been feeling good, but as I'd work out it would flame up on me or something like that," he said. "I really wanted to see what it was going to do this week, and I tried to give it everything I got as far as cutting and planting – trying to come out driving. And everything went good."
Claiborne said the tenderness he's been feeling in the knee since he injured it is gradually easing away, which he hopes means his return to the practice field will come soon.
"I'm just trying to do what I have to keep doing with the training staff, and hopefully next week I'll be back on the field," he said.
