IRVING, Texas – Frustration immediately set in for cornerback Morris Claiborne as he went down with a shoulder injury against the Giants.
The second-year corner, who's also dealt with wrist and knee injuries since joining the NFL, said the pain didn't match the frustration as he made the tackle down the sideline and dislocated the shoulder. Claiborne said the trainers talked about taking him back to the locker room to be evaluated, but he was adamant about staying on the sideline and finishing the game.
"There was talk like, 'He's finished,'" Claiborne said. "'No, I'm not. I'm going back out and I'm going to play.' I was just frustrated that it was happening, like I was going through this pain and going through an injury again." [embedded_ad]
Claiborne said his shoulder tightened up, but once he went back in it started to get loose again. He was listed as a limited participant at Wednesday's practice at AT&T Stadium, where he wore a brace on the shoulder.
"This is really the first time ever doing it and ever having to wear anything on my arm playing, but it's for the better for it slipping out again," he said. "I'd rather wear that brace to keep it under control."
The concern right now is with him hitting someone and risking further injury. Claiborne said the trainers don't want him going through contact drills yet, but he believes it'll be better by the end of the weak.
"I thought it was going to be harder than what it was today," Claiborne said. "During ball drills, I was catching pretty good. It's really not a big difference. I don't have full range of motion with it on, but it was good enough to where I can still catch balls."
The pain didn't bother him much throughout Sunday's game. He said he wasn't thinking about it at all, which might have had something to do with his adrenaline. He didn't realize the range of motion was as poor as it was.
"When it first happened, I felt it, but like I said, I was angry but I didn't pay the pain any attention," he said. "I was just mad I was going through another injury again. When it got loosened up, it felt a lot better."
Claiborne was part of a new-look defense that forced six turnovers Sunday but also allowed 450 passing yards.
The cornerback said the team heard a lot more about the big plays allowed than the turnovers that were forced. He said the group can't do that again this week, and he hopes he'll be out there to make sure they tighten up as a defense.
"To be the type of team we want to be, we can't do that," Claiborne said. "Some of the things they were doing, like slants, we can improve on that by getting our droppers in and as corners squeezing it a little bit tighter."
