IRVING, Texas - The month of June isn't typically the time of year where the depth chart is figured out.
Sure, a team can get a good idea about a player or an entire position, but it's also considered a time for experimenting things such as a rotation.
And that's what the Cowboys are doing at several positions during the OTA practices. The cornerback spot is no exception.
On Tuesday, the one day this week open to the media, the Cowboys tried a few different combinations at corner. There doesn't seem to be one player that stands out above the rest. In fact, Orlando Scandrick, Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne all took an equal amount of reps at corner.
The actual starters isn't a big deal considering opposing teams will often spread out the defense enough to use three corners at once.
But defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson said there is an easy reason why the Cowboys are rotating their cornerbacks equally.
"We've got three corners who we think are starting-caliber corners," Henderson said walking off the practice field Tuesday. "We're just rotating those guys and getting them all reps and getting them ready to play. We knew that last year. That hasn't changed."
The only thing that is remotely different is the fact Claiborne is not only healthy again, but back to the same level as Scandrick and Carr. In fact, Claiborne seemed to get the majority of the reps at right cornerback.
Henderson said he's excited about Claiborne's approach to practice, which includes an aura of confidence that hasn't always been visible on the third-year cornerback.
"I agree [embedded_ad] with that," said Henderson. "That's his mindset. He's working hard to get better and get ready for opening day. But I like the way he's come back."
Two years ago, the Cowboys appeared to solidify the cornerback spot in the months of March and April when they signed Carr to a $50 million contract, followed by a bold trade to move up to No. 6 overall and take Claiborne.
Meanwhile, Scandrick has continued to exceed expectations of being just a slot corner and has arguably been the most consistent of the trio here in the last two years.
In fact, only five players on the roster – Tony Romo, Jason Witten, L.P. Ladouceur, Doug Free and Anthony Spencer – have more tenure with the Cowboys than Scandrick.
