Is Cowboys Cornerback Morris Claiborne For Real In 2016?

[cowboys2233]

We can't lose this dude if he keeps playing the way he is. Sure, it's a gamble resigning him, but he's part of the reason we have a semi-legit secondary. He doesn't ballhawk, but he plays physical and sticks to his assignment.

If he plays the way he has for the full 16 weeks, I think it would be wise to offer him something in the neighborhood of 4yr-30mil 20 guaranteed. That amount is far below what top paid CB's make (much less than Carr was paid, even), but has the potential to be a great deal for us down the road, as Mo is playing great ball right now, and could get even better.

If we let him walk it opens, yet, another hole on D when we need as few as possible as we begin to patch our anemic D back together.

As many have already pointed out, we need to go heavy on DE and LB, SS and a TWill replacement (assuming he prices himself out of a contract with us, which he will -- he's gonna want Tavon Austin money).

Letting a solid CB like Claiborne walk is a no-go at this point. My only hope is that we hold the leverage during negotiations. We should due to his injury history and periods of inconsistency, and the fact that he "says" he wants to stay in Big D. But we've heard that before.

Love Claiborne, hope we can retain him at a good deal for both sides.

I really believe that he took a very long time to feel comfortable with everything about the professional game - I equate it to when I first started going to college. Strange place, new people - just took a while to feel truly comfortable in my surroundings. And until I did, I felt that I wasn't performing at my best academically.

I believe that is the case with Claiborne, he now feels comfortable in his surroundings and his true game is coming to the forefront. We will benefit from the patience the team showed, he will continue to excel. I think that will also serve the team well when it comes to contract negotiations. As a person who takes a while to adjust, I have a feeling he will be vehemently opposed to the idea of leaving his current environment. I think we will get him on a very reasonable contract - if anyone knows there is more to enjoying life than money, it's probably Claiborne.

 

[Redball Express]

I think it's been a combination of Claiborne playing well and luck. Some of the receivers he's played against have been overthrown when open because of poor quarterback play. He also got away with a clear hold in the end zone. If those plays had worked against him, fans probably would be calling for his head again.

However, he has been physical and has played tight coverage for the most part. That's all we can realistically ask.

As much as I like Claiborne right now..

we have to stop over-paying on one good season.

Like Dez and Romo..

he is frequently injured and under-effective.

Let some other team over-pay for his services.

If he wants to stay..let him have an incentive deal based on games played and number of interceptions.

It still a long way to go this year..

let's see if he balls out first.

 

[gimmesix]

As much as I like Claiborne right now..

we have to stop over-paying on one good season.

Like Dez and Romo..

he is frequently injured and under-effective.

Let some other team over-pay for his services.

If he wants to stay..let him have an incentive deal based on games played and number of interceptions.

It still a long way to go this year..

let's see if he balls out first.

The problem with not overpaying is being able to fill out the roster with good players. By nature of the system, teams overpay for talent. Fans get upset about it, but that's the way it works. If you don't want to overpay, you end up with a roster mostly made up of players like Benson Mayowas or Jeremy Minceys.

Next year, two of our top three corners are free agents. The choice will be to either pay one of them to stay as a starter, go after someone like Stephen Gilmore instead if he's not franchised or we've got to spend our first-round draft choice to replace a starter instead of being able to use it to upgrade an area of need.

However, we certainly should not open negotiations until near the end of the year or perhaps not until after the season if Claiborne continues to play well.

 

[perrykemp]

So much depends on his health.

Even last year, easily his most productive year, he missed 5 games - which is a ton.

 

[Doomsday101]

Mo has been doing good and I hope he continues to take the steps in the right direction. As he continues to play with confidence I would expect even more out of him.

 

[Baileyneverfailey]

I feel like if we had a more talented defense, Mo would be a guy you let go after this year. He's going to end his rookie contract having played well for about 20% of it, and having a history of injuries. But, because we lack depth on defense, we're going to end up signing him to a pretty lucrative deal, and it will probably end up being the right decision for the team.

 

[Alexander]

Surprising. But encouraging.

 

[Longboysfan]

Didn't Bill Parcells have a rule about paying guys who don't show up until they're in a contract year?

I thought this was one year past his contract year.

 

[perrykemp]

Surprising. But encouraging.

Your right - it's very surprising that Newman continues to play at such a high level.

 

[SuspectCorner]

Claiborne looks like the light has finally come on for him. Only thirteen games to go - so, what's the rush?

 

[Tenkamenin]

that might be tough because he cant catch a ball thrown right at him or track the ball.

Whether we draft or sign a CB they all suck at tracking and catching balls. We haven't had a playmaker at corner since Deion. Even T-New when he was here was great in coverage but never an int threat.