Tim MacMahon, ESPN Staff Writer 10y

Garrett: Claiborne must practice to play

IRVING, Texas -- Dallas Cowboys cornerback Morris Claiborne and his head coach share a similar hope that he can play in Saturday’s preseason game in Miami.

But Claiborne, who hasn’t done competitive work since spraining the AC joint in his right shoulder last week, isn’t on the same page as Jason Garrett in terms of whether practice is a prerequisite to playing in the game.

 Claiborne anticipated that his Thursday work would “probably be the same” as other practices this week, which means he’d be limited to non-contact individual drills. He still planned to play this weekend against the Miami Dolphins.

“My mind is on the game, on playing,” Claiborne said. “As we get closer, we’ll see, but that’s where my mind is right now, on playing on Saturday.”

Garrett said Claiborne’s availability against the Dolphins would be determined by how he does in Thursday’s practice with Friday a scheduled off day.

“We do want to make sure he has a good work day before we put him out on the game field,” Garrett said.

Claiborne has played in only two of 11 preseason games since being selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2012 draft. He didn’t play a preseason down last year and performed poorly in the regular season.

“Again, we’re for practice. We’re for preseason games,” Garrett said. “We’re an advocate of all these things. We think it’s good to practice and play and get yourself an opportunity to get some experience -- for all players, not just young players.

“For whatever reason, he’s had some issues that have prevented him from doing that, but that’s just what the situation is. So you get that thing healthy; you come back as soon as you can come back; you get as many reps as you can get to get yourself ready for the season. It’s as simple as that.”

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