IRVING, Texas – When news first broke about Morris Claiborne leaving the facility unhappy about his new role, there seemed to be as much speculation that the move involved Sterling Moore as Orlando Scandrick.
Claiborne's play has been so up and down through the first three games that it made just as much sense to some the Cowboys were not only replacing him with Scandrick as the starter, but Moore might jump in as the third corner in the nickel.
Considering Scandrick had replaced Claiborne in the lineup once last year, that actually seemed more logical as to why Claiborne would be so upset to storm out of the facility on Tuesday, although he did come back Wednesday and apologized to his teammates before participating in practice.
As it turns out, nothing has changed with Moore, who said Wednesday he is actually getting less reps in practice than before.
Moore said since Scandrick returned, he anticipated being the fourth corner and didn't expect to play ahead of Claiborne. [embedded_ad]
"He's the guy. He's going to be either the 2 or the 3 regardless of the situation," Moore said of Claiborne. "Obviously we're going to support him in whatever he's going through. He's the guy. He's always been the guy. I knew when Orlando came back I would probably be the 4. So it wasn't a huge surprise. I knew one or another I'd probably be the 4."
The starting cornerback spot has been up in the air since the offseason with Brandon Carr missing the first part of camp dealing with the loss of his mother. Then Claiborne got banged up and after Scandrick's suspension, the three of them were rarely on the field together.
Still, regardless of the order, there hasn't been much talk about any other corner sliding into that group.
However, with the Saints coming into town and the unique ability of tight end Jimmy Graham, who has been matched up against cornerbacks in recent games, it's possible Moore will be used more Sunday night.
"I would say we're playing a team that spreads the ball around," Moore said. "So there might be opportunities for me to get on the field because they have so many weapons on offense."
