IRVING, Texas –Brandon Carr practiced in full pads for the first time this preseason.
The corner had been absent for the majority of training camp for personal reasons after his mother's passing. He returned to the team late during camp but never practiced in full pads until Tuesday.
"It felt good to finally get back out there with my teammates," Carr said. "I took last week on the sideline to just kind of observe for the first time and learn some things about the game. But overall, it felt good to get out there, get my feet back wet, get my legs back under me, get some of the drills done and get some one-on-ones done."
The easing in for Carr appears to be over. Carr said he took part in the whole practice after using last week to get his body ready for more work, and he came out of it feeling fine.
Carr said this time during the preseason is important for the defense to jell. He said the whole month away at camp is one the organization starts to bond as they put in the work for the season and hopefully end up with a polished product once the regular season begins.
It's unclear just how much work Carr will get the final two preseason games, but with Orlando Scandrick out and Morris Claiborne still coming back slowly from a shoulder injury, Carr's ready for as many reps as the coaches want him to take.
"I'll play as much in the game as they want me to, and I'll take reps in practice next week and just get ready for the home opener," he said. "I feel like I'm in pretty good shape. I'm going to tax my body this week as far as putting it on myself to get myself in condition for those fourth quarters and those long drives, but you know, just whatever the coaching staff and the trainers feel is suitable for me to do, I'm all in."
Turning The Corner
Speaking of Carr, the cornerback is looking for big things from himself and from fellow cornerback Morris Claiborne this season.
"I expect for him to most importantly stay healthy, take care of his body, but at the same time, this is year three," Carr said of Claiborne. "He's seen a lot in his first two years. In the big spotlight like this, you get thrown into the fire early, but he's battled and he's still standing on his two feet. This year, it's just time for himself to turn a corner and time for myself as well to turn a corner."
Claiborne returned to practice on a limited basis Tuesday from what he described as an AC joint sprain. Head coach Jason Garrett said Claiborne didn't do much and stayed out of the contact drills.
Claiborne said he's pushing to get some action this weekend in Miami, but he's still waiting to see how that turns out.
"At this point, I feel like I'm at a good place," Claiborne said. "The coaches are at a good place with how things are going. I know we both wish things would speed up recovery-wise and be back on the field faster, but …everybody seems to be on the same page with where we're at with the rehab."
Tackle Talk
Defensive tackles Henry Melton (groin) and Terrell McClain (ankle) are still working their way back from injury.
Neither player practiced with the team Tuesday. McClain said he'll probably miss this weekend's game, but he hopes to return to practice fully within the next week. [embedded_ad]
"That's what it is, making sure when I come back I'm not going to have any setbacks, not trying to reinjure it," McClain said. "I want everything to be 100 percent when I get back."
McClain said he was doing rehab work on the field for about an hour and a half Tuesday. He doesn't have issues running straight ahead, but making cuts is the bigger issue preventing his return right now. He said the preseason is important to him to get the speed of the game back.
Melton said there's no set timetable for him to return. He said it wouldn't be a major deal if he didn't play in the preseason, but he'd like to be able to get some preseason work before playing the 49ers in the opener. * *
"It'd be good to go out there and get a few snaps underneath my belt and get my feet going and seeing how I felt," Melton said. "But we have a very high tempo here at practice, and I feel like ever since the way we've been practicing, the games have kind of not been as fast. So I feel like even if I don't get any preseason work, I'll be ready to go."
On The Squad
The number of players on each team's practice squad has officially increased from eight to 10 players.
The eligibility criteria for the practice squad has also expanded.
Players now must have a minimum of six games on a practice squad in order for that season to count as one of the player's three seasons of practice squad service. It used to be a minimum of three games. Each club can also now sign up to two players on the practice squad who've earned no more than two accrued seasons of free agency credit.
IRVING, Texas –Brandon Carr practiced in full pads for the first time this preseason.
The corner had been absent for the majority of training camp for personal reasons after his mother's passing. He returned to the team late during camp but never practiced in full pads until Tuesday.
"It felt good to finally get back out there with my teammates," Carr said. "I took last week on the sideline to just kind of observe for the first time and learn some things about the game. But overall, it felt good to get out there, get my feet back wet, get my legs back under me, get some of the drills done and get some one-on-ones done."
The easing in for Carr appears to be over. Carr said he took part in the whole practice after using last week to get his body ready for more work, and he came out of it feeling fine.
Carr said this time during the preseason is important for the defense to jell. He said the whole month away at camp is one the organization starts to bond as they put in the work for the season and hopefully end up with a polished product once the regular season begins.
It's unclear just how much work Carr will get the final two preseason games, but with Orlando Scandrick out and Morris Claiborne still coming back slowly from a shoulder injury, Carr's ready for as many reps as the coaches want him to take.
"I'll play as much in the game as they want me to, and I'll take reps in practice next week and just get ready for the home opener," he said. "I feel like I'm in pretty good shape. I'm going to tax my body this week as far as putting it on myself to get myself in condition for those fourth quarters and those long drives, but you know, just whatever the coaching staff and the trainers feel is suitable for me to do, I'm all in."
Turning The Corner
Speaking of Carr, the cornerback is looking for big things from himself and from fellow cornerback Morris Claiborne this season.
"I expect for him to most importantly stay healthy, take care of his body, but at the same time, this is year three," Carr said of Claiborne. "He's seen a lot in his first two years. In the big spotlight like this, you get thrown into the fire early, but he's battled and he's still standing on his two feet. This year, it's just time for himself to turn a corner and time for myself as well to turn a corner."
Claiborne returned to practice on a limited basis Tuesday from what he described as an AC joint sprain. Head coach Jason Garrett said Claiborne didn't do much and stayed out of the contact drills.
Claiborne said he's pushing to get some action this weekend in Miami, but he's still waiting to see how that turns out.
"At this point, I feel like I'm at a good place," Claiborne said. "The coaches are at a good place with how things are going. I know we both wish things would speed up recovery-wise and be back on the field faster, but …everybody seems to be on the same page with where we're at with the rehab."
Tackle Talk
Defensive tackles Henry Melton (groin) and Terrell McClain (ankle) are still working their way back from injury.
Neither player practiced with the team Tuesday. McClain said he'll probably miss this weekend's game, but he hopes to return to practice fully within the next week. [embedded_ad]
"That's what it is, making sure when I come back I'm not going to have any setbacks, not trying to reinjure it," McClain said. "I want everything to be 100 percent when I get back."
McClain said he was doing rehab work on the field for about an hour and a half Tuesday. He doesn't have issues running straight ahead, but making cuts is the bigger issue preventing his return right now. He said the preseason is important to him to get the speed of the game back.
Melton said there's no set timetable for him to return. He said it wouldn't be a major deal if he didn't play in the preseason, but he'd like to be able to get some preseason work before playing the 49ers in the opener. * *
"It'd be good to go out there and get a few snaps underneath my belt and get my feet going and seeing how I felt," Melton said. "But we have a very high tempo here at practice, and I feel like ever since the way we've been practicing, the games have kind of not been as fast. So I feel like even if I don't get any preseason work, I'll be ready to go."
On The Squad
The number of players on each team's practice squad has officially increased from eight to 10 players.
The eligibility criteria for the practice squad has also expanded.
Players now must have a minimum of six games on a practice squad in order for that season to count as one of the player's three seasons of practice squad service. It used to be a minimum of three games. Each club can also now sign up to two players on the practice squad who've earned no more than two accrued seasons of free agency credit.
