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Now, they'll also be forced to start the 2014 regular season without the only qualifying cornerback on their roster who earned a positive grade from Pro Football Focus (subscription required) last season, as Orlando Scandrick has been suspended four games for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy, per ESPN.
But while the Cowboys have had to get super creative to fill holes in the front seven, the reality is that they have some depth and a lot of talent in the secondary. What this means is it's officially time for Morris Claiborne to do what he was drafted to do.
The 'Boys technically sacrificed their first two selections of the 2012 draft in order to land Claiborne, which at the time wasn't seen as outlandish because the former LSU cornerback was considered by most to be the best defensive player in that class. But he's been a tremendous disappointment thus far in his career.
Despite the fact the Cowboys traded a second-round pick in order to move up eight spots to take him sixth overall, Claiborne has just two interceptions in 22 starts and 25 games. Last season, he was so shaky early that he was benched in favor of the veteran Scandrick, who never gave that starting job back.
There was a chance Claiborne was going to beat out Scandrick and start alongside the highly paid Brandon Carr regardless, but Scandrick was an insurance policy.
And based on the fact that Claiborne missed the team's preseason opener due to a knee injury—the third consecutive year in which the injury-prone 24-year-old has been forced to sit out that game—Scandrick was undoubtedly on track to serve in a starting role come Week 1 of the regular season.
That won't be the case now, which means it'll have to be Carr, Claiborne, career reserve Sterling Moore and a bunch of dudes most of us haven't heard of when the Cowboys take on San Francisco, Tennessee, St. Louis and New Orleans during the month of September.
Colin Kaepernick and Drew Brees are doing their best Montgomery Burns impressions.
And for good reason. PFF graded Scandrick as the 15th-best cornerback in the league in coverage, and he had stellar performances against Pro Bowl receivers like DeSean Jackson and Victor Cruz.
Meanwhile, PFF ranked Claiborne 90th among 110 qualifying corners. He was beaten for an average of 16.6 yards per catch, which was the seventh-highest rate in the NFL. He once again struggled to stay healthy, but when he was on the field he was abused all too often in coverage.
In Claiborne's defense, it ain't easy for young corners to adjust to speedy NFL defenses in this high-octane era, and he's been forced to work with four defensive coordinators in each of his last four seasons of football. Plus, he's always been hurt.
But the defensive scheme won't be changing dramatically this year, and injuries can't be used as an excuse much longer. He's bulked up, per ESPN.com's Calvin Watkins, and during organized team activities he was talking a big game.
“The sky is the limit,” Claiborne said then, according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon . “I’ve got big dreams. Where my mind is for this season, it’s really unbelievable. I’d rather not talk about it. I’d rather just show.”
Now it's time for him to back that up.
If he can't, this team—which already had a historically bad defense—will be in big trouble, and Claiborne will be back on the bench come October 1, moving closer to earning a permanent bust label.
Read more Dallas Cowboys news on BleacherReport.com
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