Morris Claiborne Injury: Updates on Cowboys Star's Recovery from Knee Surgery

Morris Claiborne had his 2014 season cut short last September after he had surgery for a ruptured patellar tendon in his left knee. Now, the former first-round pick is looking to recover and be ready by training camp for the Dallas Cowboys.  

Continue for updates.

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Claiborne, Jones Comment on Recovery

Thursday, June 18

Claiborne told Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News that he dropped to 150 pounds but is back up to 172 pounds, which shocked Dane Brugler of CBS Sports, who noted Claiborne checked in at 188 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine coming out of LSU.

Owner Jerry Jones is confident Claiborne will be healthy and a factor for the Cowboys the season. "He is going to surprise us," Jones said on June 17, according to Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

On June 16, Todd Archer of ESPN.com reported that Claiborne was going through individual drills at minicamp and noted that the corner wasn't expected to do more than that.

Claiborne, 25, appeared in just four games for the Cowboys in 2014, accumulating seven tackles and an interception. In three seasons, he's managed to intercept just three passes.

He has been a pretty big disappointment since being taken No. 6 overall in the 2012 NFL draft out of LSU, and this year was always likely to be an opportunity for Claiborne to show he can become a consistent option at the cornerback position. 

The fact that the team used a first-round pick on Byron Jones this year, another cornerback, suggests that it has its doubts about Claiborne as a starter going forward. In other words, the sooner he is able to return to full strength and practice fully, the sooner he can go about proving he can make good on the potential that made him a first-rounder in the first place.